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ESF President Joanie Mahoney on Adoption of Scoping Plan of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act
Joanie Mahoney, president of the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), issued a statement on the Adoption of the final Scoping Plan of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
"Today's vote by New York State's Climate Action Council to approve the final scoping plan of the Climate Leadership and Community protection act is historic, nation-leading, and critical to addressing the ever-present crisis of global climate change.
I extend my congratulations to the entire Council and in particular to the tireless Co-Chairs, DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos, and NYSERDA President Doreen Harris. Their vision and leadership over the past three years have brought this process to a conclusion that every New Yorker should take pride in.
For ESF, I offer my thanks and congratulations to the dedicated faculty who served on subcommittees of the CAC, Dr. Robert Malmsheimer, Dr. Timothy Volk, Dr. Colin Beier, and Dr. Tristan Brown. ESF is referred to twenty-eight times in the final scoping document and is identified as a key stakeholder along with our partner Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The final plan directs ESF to provide education and outreach on mass timber construction, promote the use of long-term durable wood products, work with NYSERDA to set standards and specifications for the inclusion of wood products in new construction and infrastructure, and enhance the public's understanding of the bioeconomy and its role in reducing GHG emissions, to name just a few of our to-do items.
While the CAC is concluding its remarkable three-year effort, ESF's work and the work of so many others are just beginning. We are ready, this is our mission as the State's College of Environmental Science and Forestry and we extend our gratitude and congratulations to Governor Hochul for her leadership in addressing the consequences and challenges of global climate change, the Climate Action Council for their tireless and focused effort to draft this plan, and to our dedicated faculty that contributed their expertise and vision in developing this nation-leading effort."