Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, November 12, 2010, Friday

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Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (New York)

November 12, 2010, Friday

Officials seeking input on N.Y. climate plan

BYLINE: By, Jacob Fischler

ALBANY - Gov. David Paterson released an interim New York State Climate Action Plan this week and is seeking public comment on it until Feb. 7.

Pending further research and public response, a final report will be released sometime next year.

Paterson is leaving office at year's end, to be succeeded by Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo.

The Climate Action Council was a group formed by Paterson a year ago with the intention of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent lower than they were in 1990 by 2050.

With the new plan, the state said that it hopes to add thousands of jobs as well as cut emissions.

Jobs will be created, said acting Department of Environmental Conservation commissioner Peter Iwanowicz, when solar panels are installed and other energy-saving technologies develop.

"We want them manufactured here and installed here," he said.

The state is mainly focusing on solar-, wind- and water-power to lead the way as new sources of low- or no-carbon energy sources.

Lower greenhouse gas emissions will lead to lower energy bills, said Iwanowicz.

"There is a climate crisis and there is a jobs crisis, and we must address both at the same time," Sean Sweeney, director of the Cornell Global Labor Institute, said in a statement.

The Climate Action Council plans to achieve its goal through five main strategies:

Accelerate the development of low-carbon power sources.

Improve construction codes.

Move to low-carbon fuel standards in public transportation.

Reduce waste on farms.

Target research toward helping businesses develop low-carbon energy technologies.

To read the plan in its entirety, go to www.nyclimatechange.us/InterimReport.cfm.

To submit a comment on it, go to www.nyclimatecomments.us or mail them to Climate Action Plan, NYSERDA, 17 Columbia Circle, Albany NY 12203.
JFISCHLER@Gannett.com

LOAD-DATE: November 19, 2010