State Spotlight: New York

New York’s Advancement in Climate Mitigation and Adaptation

New York State is a leader in climate mitigation and adaptation. Most recently, New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) set nation-leading climate targets for clean energy and reductions in GHG emissions. The Climate Act includes several environmental justice considerations, helping to ensure that disadvantaged communities receive no less than 35% of the benefits of state climate programs.

The passage of the Climate Act also expanded the climate hazards considered in the Community Risk and Resiliency Act (2014), which mandates consideration of climate hazards in agency decision making. In addition, the Community Risk and Resiliency Act established state-adopted sea level rise projections and delivered associated guidance on consideration of risk in smart growth, model local laws for resilience, state flood risk management, and natural resilience measures to reduce risk (Community Risk and Resiliency Act).

To further our understanding of the benefits, including risk reduction, that natural resilience measures provide in New York State, the Department of State (DOS), with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), led the development of a statewide monitoring framework to capture the ecological, hazard mitigation, and socio-economic benefits of shorelines. The monitoring framework was a collaborative effort that included considerable stakeholder engagement and reflects a prioritized framework of monitoring parameters, metrics, and protocols. DOS is supporting a next phase, which includes additional protocol refinement, as well as continued data collection at pilot sites in the coastal region.

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