New York State Finances Matching Grants to Facilitate Climate Adaptation Projects

A photo of ten people from New York smiling and standing in front of a board. The board is titled "New York State Climate Smart Communities: 100 Certified Since 2014" and with a list of certified communities below. — The Climate Smart Communities Certification Program documents and celebrates the accomplishments of communities taking climate action in New York State.
*Photo source: New York Department of Environmental Conservation.*

New York State is experiencing a variety of climate change impacts including extreme heat events, sea level rise, and more frequent and intense flooding. Since 1970, annual statewide average temperatures have increased by three degrees Fahrenheit, which is already causing widespread impacts on New York's communities and ecosystems.

Recognizing the important role that local decision makers can play in increasing the resilience of their communities to climate change, the Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Department of Public Service, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of Health, and the New York Power Authority established the Climate Smart Communities (CSC) program in 2009 to support local governments in taking climate action.

Administered by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, CSC provides 50/50 matching grants to New York’s towns, villages, counties, and boroughs to support climate change mitigation, adaptation, and planning and assessment projects. In addition to funding, the State provides communities with access to CSC Program coordinators who can help facilitate community outreach, education, and capacity-building to support climate future scenario planning and the development of climate change adaptation and resilience plans.

Because underserved and vulnerable populations are often both disproportionately affected by climate change and overlooked in climate policy initiatives, New York State has carefully incorporated climate justice considerations into its adaptation planning. For example, state agencies prioritize projects in disadvantaged communities when determining eligibility for CSC Grants. In addition, New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) created the Climate Justice Working Group (CJWG) to identify disadvantaged communities and ensure that they directly benefit from the State’s transition to a cleaner economy. The Climate Act requires that disadvantaged communities receive at least 35 percent of the benefits from climate investments. CSC has committed to exceeding this requirement by distributing 40 percent of its available grant funding to disadvantaged communities identified by the CJWG.

In 2022, CSC made a total of $12 million available for implementing projects, with a minimum grant award of $50,000 and a maximum of $2 million. The grants can fund a broad range of eligible climate adaptation initiatives, including projects that:

Increase natural resiliency and decrease vulnerability to future flood risks.

Relocate or retrofit critical infrastructure to reduce future flood risks.
Replace or right-size barriers to hydrologic/water flow to facilitate emergency response or protect people, infrastructure, and natural resources.
Address anticipated future extreme heat conditions.
Improve emergency preparedness and response systems for anticipated future extreme climate events.

Climate Smart Communities Certification Program

In 2014, CSC launched the Climate Smart Communities Certification Program to document and celebrate the accomplishments of communities taking climate action. This additional certification step provides local governments with a robust framework to organize local climate action and highlight priorities; streamline access to resources, training, tools, and expert guidance; and improve scores on grant applications for securing additional state funding. To be designated as a Certified CSC, a municipality must first adopt a CSC Pledge to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change, and then complete and document a suite of actions that mitigate and adapt to climate change at the local level. While the CSC Program originally focused on encouraging local governments to commit to climate action through the CSC Pledge, the 2014 Certification Program represents the next step in the evolution of the overall Program by providing specific guidance on how to implement the CSC Pledge. In 2022, the CSC Certification Program committed a total of $2 million in grant funding to support the implementation of certification actions and 365 local governments (representing communities of over 9.4 million New Yorkers) adopted the CSC Pledge. Of these communities, 105 are designated as Certified CSCs. Examples of certified communities and their efforts to build climate resilience include:

The Town of New Castle, which developed a climate vulnerability assessment in 2021 as part of its Hazard Mitigation Plan. The assessment identified multiple hazards, including extreme temperatures, severe winter storms, flooding, and wildfires.
The Village of Hastings-on-Hudson, which adopted a Heat Emergency Plan in 2020 to establish protocols for heat emergencies and provide strategies to support vulnerable populations within the Village. To develop the plan, Hastings-on-Hudson convened a group of key stakeholders in 2019 to discuss current heat emergency management systems and their effectiveness in addressing high-heat events. After several months, the stakeholder group developed a working draft of the Heat Emergency Plan and invited input from key constituencies including the Village Department Heads, the Village Emergency Management Team, residents, and local elected officials.
Orange County, which released a County Comprehensive Plan, which recommends strategies to guide local policies and plans that will reduce vulnerabilities, conserve natural resources, and make communities more resilient to the changing climate. Based on a natural resources inventory and vulnerability assessment that reflects the results of several years of outreach and research, this plan analyzed climate impacts and adaptation strategies according to the unique characteristics, threats, and needs of each of the county’s major watersheds.
The Village of Irvington, which assessed its water courses and water bodies to complete the Irvington Flood Study in 2011. The study, which served as the basis for developing the Village’s long-term capital plan, identifies problematic flooding areas, provides recommendations for alleviating risk-driven flooding conditions, and examines the impacts of flooding on neighboring public and private properties.

How Did They Do It?	Applicable Tools
Assessed threats and identified climate vulnerabilities. Local and state agencies throughout New York developed climate vulnerability assessments to identify, analyze, and prioritize climate hazards and risks, such as flooding, extreme heat, and drought. CSC provides resources and examples for local governments to use when developing their own climate vulnerability assessments.	Tools used: The New York State Department of Health Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI) identifies areas in New York State with high proportions of heat-vulnerable populations. The New York State Department of State Coastal Risk Areas assessment tool helps communities survey assets and calculate relative risk scores based on several factors that impact risk.
Evaluated policies for climate resilience. CSC developed the Climate Smart Resiliency Planning (CSRP) tool for local governments to evaluate the climate resilience of their existing policies.	Tools used: Climate Smart Resiliency Planning (CSRP) tool is a self-administered planning assessment tool designed to stimulate ideas, discussion, and collaboration among local government staff and officials. The CSRP tool helps local decision makers make early progress on climate change adaptation and creates an opportunity to integrate climate considerations into local government operations.
Identified vulnerable populations. The Climate Act charged the CJWG with developing criteria to identify disadvantaged communities and ensure that they benefit from the State’s transition to a cleaner economy. The CJWG draft criteria identified census tracts that qualify as disadvantaged communities. The selection criteria incorporated 45 indicators, including climate-related risks such as flooding or extreme heat, health vulnerabilities like asthma, and socio-economic factors such as race, ethnicity, and income. The CJWG draft criteria identified 1,721 census tracts across New York State as disadvantaged communities, representing 35% of all census tracts.	Tools used: Interactive map of Disadvantaged Communities criteria developed by CJWG. Additional tools that may be useful: EPA's EJScreen: This environmental justice mapping and screening tool provides demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental information for a specific geographic area. CEJEST: The Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool identifies disadvantaged communities that are underserved and overburdened by pollution.
Connected local governments to CSC Coordinators. The New York State government assigned CSC Coordinators to select municipalities. CSC Coordinators are available to help local governments in NY prepare for climate change across the state. Coordinators support local governments in taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change through outreach, planning, education, and capacity building.

How Did They Do It?

Applicable Tools

Assessed threats and identified climate vulnerabilities.

Local and state agencies throughout New York developed climate vulnerability assessments to identify, analyze, and prioritize climate hazards and risks, such as flooding, extreme heat, and drought. CSC provides resources and examples for local governments to use when developing their own climate vulnerability assessments.

Tools used:

The New York State Department of Health Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI) identifies areas in New York State with high proportions of heat-vulnerable populations.

The New York State Department of State Coastal Risk Areas assessment tool helps communities survey assets and calculate relative risk scores based on several factors that impact risk.

Evaluated policies for climate resilience.

CSC developed the Climate Smart Resiliency Planning (CSRP) tool for local governments to evaluate the climate resilience of their existing policies.

Tools used:

Climate Smart Resiliency Planning (CSRP) tool is a self-administered planning assessment tool designed to stimulate ideas, discussion, and collaboration among local government staff and officials. The CSRP tool helps local decision makers make early progress on climate change adaptation and creates an opportunity to integrate climate considerations into local government operations.

Identified vulnerable populations.

The Climate Act charged the CJWG with developing criteria to identify disadvantaged communities and ensure that they benefit from the State’s transition to a cleaner economy.
The CJWG draft criteria identified census tracts that qualify as disadvantaged communities. The selection criteria incorporated 45 indicators, including climate-related risks such as flooding or extreme heat, health vulnerabilities like asthma, and socio-economic factors such as race, ethnicity, and income.

The CJWG draft criteria identified 1,721 census tracts across New York State as disadvantaged communities, representing 35% of all census tracts.

Tools used:

Interactive map of Disadvantaged Communities criteria developed by CJWG.

Additional tools that may be useful:

EPA's EJScreen: This environmental justice mapping and screening tool provides demographic, socioeconomic, and environmental information for a specific geographic area.

CEJEST: The Climate & Economic Justice Screening Tool identifies disadvantaged communities that are underserved and overburdened by pollution.

Connected local governments to CSC Coordinators.

The New York State government assigned CSC Coordinators to select municipalities.
CSC Coordinators are available to help local governments in NY prepare for climate change across the state. Coordinators support local governments in taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change through outreach, planning, education, and capacity building.

Similar Cases and More Information

To see how New York City has adapted to prepare for extreme heat events, view the NYC Heat Preparedness case study. To view a case study that identified and actively engaged vulnerable communities in adaptation planning for heat events, see the Chicago Heat Emergency Response study. For another regional example of local communities preparing for climate change impacts, see the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Identified Smart Growth Strategies for More Resilient Communities example.

New York State Finances Matching Grants to Facilitate Climate Adaptation Projects

Climate Smart Communities Certification Program

Similar Cases and More Information

References

Climate Change Adaptation Resource Center (ARC-X)