FAQs

A Community Greenhouse Gas Inventory is an accounting, analysis, and report of the greenhouse gas emissions across sectors such as transportation, waste, buildings, facilities, and other sources that are produced by community activity or consumption within a given municipal boundary. We are looking at emissions produced across the entirety of Ulster County to help us identify the largest sources of emissions and how we can reduce them.

A CCAP is a strategy document that establishes greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and identifies initiatives to achieve those goals through a robust stakeholder engagement process. By providing a framework for achieving the greenhouse gas emissions reduction target at a community scale, the CCAP identifies opportunities for local governments and community groups to work in concert to reach reduction goals.

Climate change mitigation is actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions to slow down climate change and lessen the severity of impacts. Examples include switching from oil and gas systems to energy-efficient heat pumps for heating, cooling, and hot water; insulating and weatherizing buildings; expanding access to the benefits of renewable energy and battery storage; improving public transit; switching to an electric vehicle; improving pedestrian and cyclist infrastructure; and composting food waste. The Ulster County CCAP will focus primarily on climate change mitigation strategies.

Climate change adaptation is about making changes to infrastructure and services to better adapt to the impacts of climate change that are already occurring. Examples of adaptation measures include elevating buildings above the floodplain, opening cooling centers, upgrading water storage and irrigation systems, etc.