News from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

For more information contact: Maureen Wren, 518-402-8000

Grannis Congratulates Climate Change Pioneers

21 New York Participants To Report Emissions to The Climate Registry

ALBANY, NY (05/13/2008; 1127)(readMedia)-- New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis today congratulated 21 public and private organizations in New York State, including DEC, that have enrolled as “Founding Reporters” to the Climate Registry - a pioneering nationwide effort to track emissions that are causing climate change.

Nationwide, 242 cities, agencies, universities, businesses and other organizations enrolled in the Registry by the May 1 deadline for Founding Reporter status. With 21 Founding Reporters, New York State is second only to California in the number of organizations gaining this designation, thereby taking a leadership role in focusing on climate change.

By enrolling, organizations commit to use standardized protocols to inventory their emissions of six types of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O, PFC, HFC, and SF6), to have the inventories verified by third parties, and to make the results available for review by the public. An online inventory and reporting tool will be available by July 2008. By enrolling before the program is launched, Founding Reporters have demonstrated their commitment to support this important program during its development.

Commissioner Grannis said: “New York continues to provide leadership in the fight against global warming. Although enrolling as a reporter does not require a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, there is the adage that ‘what gets measured gets managed.’ We fully expect that the inventory process will help reporters gain a better understanding of their processes and allow them to reduce greenhouse gases and energy consumption.”

New York State’s Founding Reporters to the Climate Registry are:

Ecology and Environment, Inc., Lancaster, Erie County

City of Syracuse

New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation

New York Power Authority

RiverWright, LLC, Buffalo

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

City of Rochester

City of Oneonta

Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., New York

Juice Energy, Inc., New York

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

Syracuse University, Syracuse

Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., White Plains

New York State Office of General Services

Environmental Advocates of New York, Albany

Dormitory Authority of the State of New York

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation

Cornell University, Ithaca

Natural Resources Defense Council, New York

New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York

Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester

Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commissioner Carol Ash said: “As home to an incredible diversity of plants, animals and ecosystems - and the places where so many of our young people, the future stewards of the environment, gain a lasting connection to the outdoors - New York State Parks must be a model of sustainability and natural resource protection. The Climate Registry is a tool state parks can use to integrate sustainability practices into all aspects of our operations - leading the way in tackling the challenge of global climate change.”

Frances Beinecke, President of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said: “In order to set goals you need to have a starting point, which is why we must first understand the scope of our global warming pollution problem in order to effectively fix it. The Registry gives us the tools we need to measure pollution state-by-state, region-by-region, which will help ensure that our emerging global warming pollution reduction initiatives are able to achieve their intended goal of solving the climate crisis.”

Robert Moore, Executive Director for Environmental Advocates of New York, said: “Hopefully it won't be long before federal and state laws catch up with what the scientists say we need to have in place to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Participating in a global warming pollution reporting program such as the Climate Registry gives us the chance to practice what we preach by tracking our own greenhouse gas emissions while preparing for the changes to come.”

The Climate Registry, North America's largest climate initiative, is a not-for-profit organization that has established a common system for estimating and reporting greenhouse gas emissions. Its purpose is to ensure that emissions reduction programs are consistent across borders and industry sectors. The Registry's protocols will ensure that reported emissions data are accurate, complete, consistent, verified and available for public review.

New York continues to encourage public and private parties to enroll in the Climate Registry. Information is available at www.TheClimateRegistry.org . Organizations interested in joining may contact Mark Lowery in DEC's Office of Climate Change at 518-402-8027, or by email to climatechange@gw.dec.state.ny.us .

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