Town of Ithaca

The Town of Ithaca recently joined the County and the City in their long-standing formal commitment to sustainability and climate action, setting the stage for the community to achieve significant reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions while improving quality of life for all members of the community. This alignment of goals represents a valuable opportunity for the three local governments to coordinate their efforts in order to maximize success and spur innovation to achieve deep reductions in greenhouse gases. 

The Town of Ithaca is working on developing thoughtful strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within local government and the community, practice sustainable land use planning, promote a green economy, explore renewable energy options, and collaborate with residents to meet these goals. The Town recently completed an analysis of government greenhouse gas emissions, and committed to reducing its emissions 30% by 2020 and 80% by 2050, and expects to release its Energy Action Plan early this fall.

Ithaca Town Supervisor, Herb Engman stresses the time is ripe to build resilience by sharing resources, partnering to secure funding, and implementing community-wide projects and programs that increase participation while distributing responsibility across jurisdictions. “Achieving our goals, both at the municipal and county level, will require us to think long-term with a critical and creative approach, Engman states. “Our capacity to effectively implement plans and accomplish goals will be strengthened and reinforced by working together with the City, County, and other towns and villages in Tompkins County.”