Friends –

In 2024 Sustainable Hudson Valley:

• Launched a program to demonstrate long-term carbon dioxide removal using natural methods such as biochar, with funding from 4Corners Carbon Coalition to cover the costs of major biochar applications on ten farms to be selected in January 2025;
• Worked with New Yorkers for Cool Refrigerant Management to advise the DEC on stronger regulations to manage and phase out refrigerants – the most intense, yet invisible, climate pollutants;
• Brought together over 140 volunteers to plant more than 2,000 pollinator plantings and 49 shade and fruit trees in the City of Newburgh;
• Tackled a major barrier to rolling out renewable energy – the disconnect between communities’ land-use planning and utilities’ plans for upgrading the grid – through a series of productive meetings with Central Hudson and community representatives, taking the first steps toward developing a model that can be used anywhere.
• Trained staff members of the Mid-Hudson and Ramapo-Catskill Library Systems on the basics of climate resilience, including physical measures like microgrids and rain gardens, and program strategies to bring people together, laying groundwork for climate safe neighborhoods in four counties.
• Employed two Climate Justice Fellows who have supported our programs and used the opportunity to enter the climate work force.

In June, Sustainable Hudson Valley brought together over 100 practitioners in the second annual Climate Solutions Summit, an energizing gathering where we heard from state agencies, investors, educators and others on work underway to finance the energy transition.

In September, we offered our Hudson Valley Climate Solutions Week for the fourth year in a row. The regional green event series included 60 events from more than 75 businesses and organizations, with more than 50 in-person events across 12 counties. The theme was Climate, Democracy and You, and we kicked off with a live keynote presentation from Bill McKibben titled “Why This Election is the Most Important in This Geologic Era.” Bill McKibben made clear that we have a heavy lift ahead: “We will not save ourselves one EV at a time.” Still, he shared encouraging signs in the plummeting prices of solar panels and the disruptive changes in large-scale solar markets, such as grassroots movement in Pakistan to install massive amounts of small scale solar.

Our work is about removing barriers and building momentum for transformative change. We look forward to working with you in 2025.