Carbon Neutral Nassau By 2035 Local officials react to Legislator’s proposal for county

AMANDA OLSEN & JULIE PRISCO

aolsen@antonmediagroup.com jprisco@antonmediagroup.com

With rising sea levels and stronger, more frequent extreme weather events, Long Island is on the front lines of climate change. According to the most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities are responsible for accelerating global warming and climate change. Higher temperatures, more frequent precipitation and storms, faster rates of ocean warming, and sea level rise are some of the key physical effects of climate change that are impacting communities and ecosystems around the world. Climate change impacts will continue to worsen as global temperatures and greenhouse gas emissions increase.

New York State has already enacted legislation to combat climate change. On July 18, 2019, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (Climate Act) was signed into law. This is among the most ambitious climate laws in the nation and requires New York to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and no less than 85 percent by 2050.

But for some, this does not go far enough.

A recent proposal, spearheaded by Legislator Joshua Lazafan, together with the Nassau County Legislature’s Minority Caucus and advocates from the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, presents even more ambitious goals, requiring county municipal operations to be carbon neutral by January 1, 2035.

The proposal would require the county to create and deliver a carbon neutrality action plan to the legislature no later than Dec. 1, 2024 and provide triennial updates to the Legislature outlining the county’s progress toward achieving carbon neutrality. The County Executive would be further empowered to seek state and federal grants and to create a local carbon neutrality advisory panel to aid in this effort.

“Our exposure to climate change is a constant threat to our homes, our communities, our infrastructure, our drinking water, and our collective safety,”

Legislator Lafazan said.

“Local governments are on the front lines of this crisis, and we have an opportunity to transform our community - making it healthier, more prosperous, and more equitable through our carbon neutrality plan.”

According to an OpEd from Legislator Lafazan, “Long Island ranks fourth among major population centers for its exposure to the physical and economic risks of climate change. Reports show that Long Island is especially vulnerable to warming temperatures, extreme weather, sea level rise and “water stress” from our reliance upon a sole-source aquifer for potable water. This underscores the need for collective urgency here and how the actions we take now will help protect Long Island for generations to come.”

Legislator Lafazan’s concerns for the future generations is not exaggerated. He explains how we have already seen a preview of what is to come if we don’t act now to address climate change. “Powerful once-in-a-generation storms that happened every century are happening every month. Recently, 26 people died from the extreme tornado in Mississippi. Thirty-seven people died this winter from extreme storms in Buffalo. And lest we not forget Hurricane Sandy, where 44 New Yorkers lost their lives, and 69,000 people suffered property damage.”

The climate crisis is a bipartisan issue and Legislator Lafazan is encouraging Republicans and Democrats in Nassau

County to support the bill. “I call upon County Executive Blakeman and my colleagues in the Legislature to pass this bill and make Nassau County the cleanest and greenest municipality in the State of New York.”

On the local level, the Town of North Hempstead has been working to become a greener town for years now through awareness programs, recycling events, and conservation initiatives. North Hempstead has encouraged residents and businesses to be more environmentally conscious while improving the town code to address climate change.

“As a town that is committed to environmental sustainability, it is imperative that we take bold and ambitious steps towards reducing our carbon footprint. Legislator Lafazan’s bill to make Nassau County carbon neutral by 2035 is a commendable effort that aligns with our own goals of creating a more sustainable future for our community,” said Councilmember Mariann Dalimonte (District Six).

Councilmember Veronica Lurvey (District Four) discussed some of the town’s work through the Climate Smart Communities Task Force. The task force recently approved a Municipal Climate Action Plan, which is part of the town’s commitment to address climate change by reducing greenhouse emissions. The process started with the measurement of a baseline in 2019. The town aims to reduce GHG emissions by 20 percent by 2030 within its municipal operations, from the 2019 baseline, explained Councilmember Lurvey. The plan, which can be accessed on the town website, involved the input from town employees in every department, it’s comprehensive.

“I would like to review Legislator Lafazan’s proposed bill. As I understand it,

CARBON NEUTRAL from page 3 carbon neutrality doesn’t necessarily mean 0 percent GHG emissions. It means that there is a balance between emissions and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere,” said Councilmember Lurvey. “Here is where another extremely important Town initiative comes into play. Trees act as carbon sinks. In 2019, I led the effort to do a massive revision to town code as it relates to trees. As a result of the revisions, the town is now mandated to strive to increase the tree canopy. Through the adoption of my budget amendments to the 2023 budget, we increased funding for tree related matters by $1 million. With these important actions, we took extremely important steps forward toward carbon neutrality, separate from the Municipal Climate Action Plan.”

“A municipal plan to reduce GHG emissions is a critical first step, but non-municipal actions and initiatives need to be a part of the solution,” said Counilmember Lurvey. “These will be detailed in a future Community Climate Action Plan to be developed separately, again through the Climate Smart Communities Task Force.”

The villages within the Town of North Hempstead have taken it upon themselves to follow in the town’s footsteps and be more environmentally friendly. For example, the Village of Great Neck Plaza has hosted Earth Day events to encourage sustainable living. Great Neck Plaza Mayor Ted Rosen supports the idea of the proposed bill, he’d like to study it more.

“We should certainly aspire towards achieving carbon neutral status in the future,” said Mayor Rosen. “Setting a specific date is a much more difficult question, that requires careful analysis and study. I salute [Legislator Lafazan] for long term planning and looking ahead. Its 2023 now and he’s looking 12 years ahead for 2035, that’s very important and we should all be doing that.”

Mayor Lawrence Ceriello of Munsey Park questioned how the county will pay for the changes required, if not by raising taxes, and thus impacting individual residents.

“The Nassau County Legislature can debate the merits of Legislator Lafazan’s proposed bill but it is incorrect to suggest, as he does, that residents will not bear the cost of his plan. They will. For example, his plan will require that county-owned cars, like police and emergency response vehicles, that now run on gasoline be replaced with electric versions that run on electricity. How does he propose to pay for this if not through higher taxes? Also, I assume his plan will require that all county-owned buildings be carbon-neutral; retrofitting all of those buildings will be expensive. In the County owned parks and beaches, wouldn’t his plan ban outdoor BBQ grills that now burn charcoal or propane? That may not sound like much, but to some families this change will be meaningful. So, as I see it, his plan will impact Nassau families in many ways, not the least of which is the increase in taxes required to pay for it.”

While there aren’t many concrete details regarding Legislator Lafazan’s proposal when it comes to costs and taxes, he states that his “proposal strictly relates to Nassau County’s government and our municipal operations. So, while this law does not establish new mandates for individual Nassau County homeowners, all citizens in Nassau will be the beneficiaries of a cleaner environment. Whether it’s improving the quality of our air, our drinking water, our beaches, buildings, parks and preserves, we all benefit from a greener Nassau. And of equal importance, this bill will make Nassau County a “Climate Smart” community, ensuring that state and federal grants offset the costs of these improvements so we don’t have to hike a single dollar in taxes.”