City of Syracuse, NY

09/26/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/26/2025 14:52

City of Syracuse Receives NYS Climate Smart Communities Certification

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City of Syracuse Receives NYS Climate Smart Communities Certification

Published on September 26, 2025

During Climate Week, Mayor Walsh Announces City of Syracuse Receives Bronze Certification from New York State Climate Smart Communities

Certification recognizes Syracuse as a leader for climate mitigation and adaptation
In celebration of Climate Week, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh announced the City of Syracuse received bronze certification from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Certification program. Certification is given to communities that take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve community resilience, such as saving energy, reducing flood risk, addressing extreme heat, and developing plans to demonstrate climate leadership.
"Syracuse is becoming a greener, more sustainable city, with specific actions in place to reduce our carbon footprint and mitigate the effects of climate change," said Mayor Ben Walsh. "Achieving bronze status from Climate Smart Communities is meaningful recognition of the work we've already done but also encouragement for us to keep pushing toward silver status. The climate education and engagement programs we're conducting are critical to our success, and I invite the entire community to come out and join us!"
Syracuse is one of more than 175 certified Climate Smart Communities across the state. To become certified, governments must complete and document actions that mitigate and adapt to climate change at the local level.
Examples of actions completed by the City of Syracuse include designing flood maps, creating cooling centers during periods of extreme heat, transitioning to LED streetlights and traffic signals, increasing access to public transit, improving transportation infrastructure, creating a sustainability taskforce, tracking and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and updating zoning policies. For a full list of actions, visit the City's online certification report found on the Climate Smart Communities website.
Future actions planned or already underway that will count toward silver status include green infrastructure improvements, partnerships for renewable energy, traffic calming projects, the inclusion of sustainability throughout the new Comprehensive Plan 2050, and the creation of a data-informed Climate Action Plan.
Earlier this month, Mayor Walsh issued a call for engagement in Climate Education Programs as part of the City's Sustainable Syracuse Initiative and through a new partnership with EnergySmart CNY. The programs will provide climate change education and resources through a series of public engagements that invite the community to be a part of sustainability solutions.
The City's Sustainable Syracuse Initiative and its programming is funded in part by the Climate Smart Communities Grant Program, Title 15 of the Environmental Protection Fund through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). CSC Certification coordination is funded by the Environmental Protection Fund.

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City of Syracuse, NY published this content on September 26, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 26, 2025 at 20:52 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]