Raymond Pignone is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media that the Columbia County communities of Austerlitz, Hudson, and New Lebanon have endorsed the state’s Climate Action Council Scoping Plan. Officials in all three municipalities declared their support for the plan, which calls for (1) the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030; (2) accomplishing net-zero emissions by 2050; (3) meeting 70 percent of electricity needs from renewable resources by 2030; (4) meeting 100 percent of electricity needs from zero-emissions resources by 2040; and (5) ensuring a just and equitable transition that leaves no one behind and dedicating up to 40 percent of the benefits of clean energy investments to disadvantaged communities. The New Lebanon Town Board unanimously adopted a resolution emphasizing a halt to investments in fossil fuel producers. The measure also calls for support of proposed advanced building codes that would improve the energy efficiency of new buildings. The Austerlitz resolution notes that more than half of what New Yorkers now spend on energy leaves the state, mostly to purchase fossil fuels, and local communities would be better served by keeping energy spending primarily within the local economy. The measure was approved by the Austerlitz Town Board on a vote of 3 to 2. In Hudson, Mayor Kamal Johnson signed a unanimously adopted support resolution which, “affirms the critical importance of meeting the emissions and equity goals of the Climate Act, which will help mitigate dangerous warming while delivering the additional benefits of improving public health, economic opportunities, agricultural land and open space protection and quality of life for the people of Hudson.” Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.