Mission Statement
The mission of the Philmont Climate Smart Task Force is to take the actions designated by New York State to help Philmont reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to reduce climate change and help New York State meet its climate goals.
Educational & Financial Resources
- 2024 Philmont Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan plus Appendix A
- 35 Easy Ways to Save Energy and Money
- Finance Your Energy Efficiency Project with a Loan from NYSERDA
- EmPower New York | EmPower New York provides no-cost energy efficiency solutions to income-eligible New Yorkers.
- Energy Audits for All New York State Homeowners
- Save Money, Save Energy with Heat Pumps
News & Events
FINAL REPORT | 2024 Philmont Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan
Philmont Community Solar Campaign
Columbia County Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan Survey
Monthly Minutes
Quarterly Newsletters
Members of the Climate Smart Task Force:
- Tom Paino, CSC Chair *
- Debra Gitterman, Village Board Liaison
- Brian Johnson, Village Board Liaison
- Sarah Barton-King
- Allison Hoppe
- Arthur King
- Susan Michie
- Andrew Personette
- Michael Seserman
* Tom Paino has a career background in sustainable architecture. He was sustainability director for NYC’s Department of Design and Construction, responsible for meeting the city’s goals to reduce building generated carbon emissions through policy protocols & implementation. He also attended the 2015 Paris Climate Accord participating in the eight-day symposium on reducing climate emissions in buildings and infrastructure.
Clean Energy and Climate Smart Community Programs
As a contributor to the global effort to address greenhouse gas emissions as well as reduce municipal energy costs, since 2016 the Village of Philmont has participated in two overlapping New York State programs that mitigate climate change disruptions:
- Clean Energy Community (CEC), administered by Capitol District Regional Planning Commission and funded through New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. This program offers a framework to implement energy saving measures, funds specifically defined initiatives, and provides technical assistance.
- Climate Smart Community (CSC) administered by Capitol District Regional Planning Commission and supported through mixed funding sources. Once a municipality “pledges” to participate in the mission, the program offers guidance to develop a framework for actions and measures, provides funding through a credit and point system as well as measure-specific grants, and gives technical assistance. Philmont took the Climate Smart Communities pledge in March 2018. View the Certification Assessment | Actions to achieve Certification and Bronze Status in the Climate Smart Community Program.
Online Resources
- NYS’s Path to Net Zero
- The New York State Climate Smart Communities Program
- NYSERDA’s Clean Energy Communities
Climate Smart Committee:
Coming soon…