The Westchester County Board of Legislators recently approved a resolution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within the county.
“Climate change is the defining issue of the 21st Century,” said County Legislator Tom Abinanti (D-I-WF, Greenburgh,) resolution sponsor and chairman of the Environment and Energy Committee. “We can”™t ignore the science any further”¦we need to understand and act on its findings.”
The county committed to a four-fold resolution including a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent below 2005 emission levels by 2015 and by 80 percent by 2050, to create an inventory of countywide greenhouse gas emissions, to develop and implement a countywide plan for meeting emissions reduction and to provide leadership through public education and partnerships.
“The county executive has led in addressing the issue so far with the task force he constituted,” Abinanti said, in reference to the Global Warming Task Force, which included numerous and varied stakeholders. “It”™s important that the legislature use its muscle to build on that initiative and create a mandate for climate-conscious choices across all sectors of the county.”
Abinanti cited climate change as a battle that must be waged on many fronts. “Together with other counties, we must each act locally while thinking globally.” Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
