The Town of East Hampton’s energy sustainability advisory committee is considering a recommendation that the town declare a climate emergency, Councilwoman Sylvia Overby said on Tuesday. More than 1,700 jurisdictions, representing more than 820 million people in 30 countries, have declared a climate emergency, according to the website Climate Emergency Declaration.
Since 2016, East Hampton has been among the Climate Smart Communities, a New York State program that helps local governments take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change. The program recognizes municipalities through a three-tiered rating system: bronze, silver, and gold, the latter still under development. East Hampton is among 47 at the bronze level; just four, among them Suffolk County, hold the silver designation.
The town must recertify its Climate Smart status next year, said Ms. Overby, who is the liaison to the committee, and its members hope that it will attain silver status. She asked her colleagues on the board to consider declaring an emergency.
“Two days ago, the Arctic Circle reached 86 degrees Fahrenheit,” Ms. Overby said. “Globally, May was the warmest on record. . . . So our belief, as the energy sustainability committee, is that we are in a climate emergency.”
