BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County has surpassed its goal for decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.
In the recent Climate Action Update, the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning announced the 2020 GHG inventory for government operations showed a decrease of 36.4% compared to a 2005 baseline. This surpases a goal set by the Climate Action & Sustainability Plan (CASP) - Internal Operations by almost 4.5%.
"Erie County remains committed to decreasing emissions from county operations and leading in the community to create a greener, healthier county for future generations. This report shows that we are headed in the right direction and our efforts are bearing fruit," Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz said.
"I thank the Erie County Green Team for the work they’ve done and the focus they bring to upcoming projects. Erie County is demonstrating that working to reduce emissions makes sense for the environment, for business, and for the community."
The CASP was developed by the Erie County Green Team and was approved by the legislature in 2019. The CASP also contains a commitment to for all county operations to be powered by electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
Other projects highlighted in the report include:
- Energy Performance Contract - a specialized contract for energy conservation projects, one building has been selected as a candidate for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (“NYSERDA”) Very-High Efficiency Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning pilot program
- Paris/Climate Action Fund - reinvests half of savings from previous year achieved through conservation into additional sustainability initiatives
- Open C-PACE – Clean Energy Financing – Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) is a financing mechanism for energy conservation and renewable energy projects in commercially owned buildings.
- Food composting at Erie County Correctional Facility
- Silver Climate Smart Community Certification being awarded
The full update can be viewed at the Erie County website.