Climate Smart Grants available
Albany. State making $22 million available to municipalities
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Acting Commissioner Amanda Lefton today the Climate Smart Communities grant progam is making $22 million available to help municipalities take action to address climate change.
Eligible projects include reducing flood risk by relocating or retrofitting critical infrastructure, reducing emissions from food waste, engineering feasibility studies, among many other actions that target decreasing pollution and improving health and community resilience.
Funding for the Climate Smart Communities Grant program is supported by the $4.2 billion Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act and the State’s Environmental Protection Fund, which was increased to a record $425 million in the 2025-26 State Budget.
If awarded a grant, municipalities are required to provide a local match of 50 percent of the total costs for most projects.
More information about the grant program and the 2025 Request for Applications are available on the DEC website. Applications are due by July 31.
A total of $21 million is available for grants of between $50,000 and $2 million for these and other types of implementation projects:
In addition, up to $1 million is available for grants between $10,000 and $200,000 for planning, inventory, and assessment projects that are aligned with certain Climate Smart Communities actions in the areas of greenhouse gas mitigation, transportation, climate adaptation, and land use.