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Grants for Climate Action

Climate Smart Communities Grant Program

The Climate Smart Communities (CSC) Grant program was established in 2016 to provide 50/50 matching grants to cities, towns, villages, and counties of the State of New York for eligible climate change mitigation, adaptation, and planning and assessment projects.

Download the CSC Grants Fact Sheet (PDF) for an overview of the program.

Funds are available for two broad project categories - implementation and certification. The first project category supports implementation projects related to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (mainly outside the power sector) and climate change adaptation. The second supports planning and assessment projects aligned with Climate Smart Communities certification actions (leaves DEC website).

Round 6 of the CSC Grant Program is CLOSED.

For details on project types, requirements, and eligibility, see the 2022 Request for Applications (PDF).

Eligibility:

  • All municipalities, defined as a county, city, town, or village residing within New York State are eligible to apply to the CSC Grant program. Political subdivisions such as municipal corporations, school districts, district corporations, boards of cooperative educational services, fire districts, public benefit corporations, industrial development authorities, and similar organizations are not eligible to apply, however, may apply in partnership with an eligible lead municipality. See request for application for details.
  • Municipalities need not be a registered or certified as a Climate Smart Community to apply for a grant.
  • Applicant municipalities must be registered in the New York State Grants Gateway (leaves DEC website).

​Application:

  • ​ALL applicants must submit a resolution authorizing the application and specifying the match amount and the source of the local match. Applications without such a resolution will be deemed ineligible.
  • Pursuant to the requirements of Title 15 of the Environmental Protection Fund (Environmental Conservation Law [ECL] §54-1501 et seq.), the grantee must own the property upon which the proposed development, improvement, restoration, and/or rehabilitation project will be implemented, or obtain a climate change mitigation easement (CCME) from the owner of the project site. If the applicant does not own the property upon which the proposed project will be implemented, the applicant is required to submit a landowner agreement at the time of application as follows:
    • If the property owner is another municipality, submit a certified resolution by the municipal property owner in support of the project indicating agreement to enter into a CCME with the applicant.
    • If the property owner is not a municipality, submit a notarized written statement from the property owner in support of the project indicating agreement to enter into a CCME with the applicant.
  • ​Projects involving a partnership between two or more municipalities, or a municipality and a non-municipal entity, must submit, at the time of application, letters or other written agreements, signed by all parties, substantiating the collaboration and detailing the responsibilities, roles, and financial and in-kind match contributions of each party.

Additional Information:

Municipal Zero-emission Vehicle (ZEV) Program

The Municipal ZEV Program was established in 2016 to provide rebates to cities, towns, villages, and counties of the State of New York to encourage and enable ZEV adoption by municipalities for fleet use as well as install electric vehicle charging and hydrogen fuel filling station components primarily for public use.

ZEV Vehicle Rebates

The Municipal ZEV Rebate provides rebates to cities, towns, villages, and counties to purchase or lease (for at least 36 months) eligible new zero-emission vehicles for fleet use.

Download the ZEV Rebate Fact Sheet (PDF) for an overview of the program.

ZEV Rebate Application Period is CLOSED

For details, requirements, and eligibility see the 2022 Request for Applications (PDF).

Eligibility:

  • All municipalities, defined as a county, city, town, or village residing within New York State are eligible to apply to the ZEV Rebate program. Political subdivisions such as municipal corporations, school districts, district corporations, boards of cooperative educational services, fire districts, public benefit corporations, industrial development authorities, and similar organizations are not eligible to apply.

​Application:

  • Applications are accepted only through the New York State Grants Gateway (leaves DEC website).
  • The deadline for the 2022 round was 4:00 p.m. on September 30, 2022.

ZEV Infrastructure Grants

The Municipal ZEV Infrastructure Grant program provides grants to cities, towns, villages, and counties to install hydrogen fuel filling station components and Level 2 (L2) and direct current fast charge (DCFC) electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) primarily for public use.

Download the ZEV Infrastructure Grant Fact Sheet (PDF) for an overview of the program.

ZEV Infrastructure Grant Application Period is CLOSED

For details, requirements, and eligibility see the 2022 Request for Applications (PDF).

Eligibility:

All municipalities, defined as a county, city, town, or village residing within New York State are eligible to apply to the CSC Grant program. Political subdivisions such as municipal corporations, school districts, district corporations, boards of cooperative educational services, fire districts, public benefit corporations, industrial development authorities, and similar organizations are not eligible to apply, however, may apply in partnership with an eligible lead municipality. See request for application for details.

  • L2 EVSE that appear on the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) list of units qualified for the Charge Ready NY Program (leaves DEC website) OR L2 and DCFC units listed on the New York State Office of General Services (OGS) EVSE and Network Services State Contract (leaves DEC website) are eligible, as is hydrogen fuel dispensing equipment.
  • If a facility (location) has received funding from the NYSERDA Charge Ready Program, the same facility may not receive funding from this program, for the same equipment installed under Charge Ready; however additional units may be installed in the same facility.
  • Utility Make Ready Program (leaves DEC website) funds may be combined with funds from this program.

Application:

  • Applications are accepted only through the New York State Grants Gateway (leaves DEC website).
  • The deadline for the 2022 round was 4:00 p.m. on September 30, 2022.
  • Pursuant to the requirements of Title 15 of the Environmental Protection Fund (Environmental Conservation Law [ECL] §54-1501 et seq.), the grantee must own the property upon which the proposed development, improvement, restoration, and/or rehabilitation project will be implemented, or obtain a climate change mitigation easement (CCME) from the owner of the project site. If the applicant does not own the property upon which the proposed project will be implemented, the applicant is required to submit a landowner agreement at the time of application as follows:
    • If the property owner is another municipality, submit a certified resolution by the municipal property owner in support of the project indicating agreement to enter into a CCME with the applicant.
    • If the property owner is not a municipality, submit a notarized written statement from the property owner in support of the project indicating agreement to enter into a CCME with the applicant.​

Additional Information:

Managing Grant Contracts

Grant awards under $10,000 will be administered via NYS Letter of Agreement and awards $10,000 and over will be managed via NYS Master Contract for Grants (MCG) within the Grants Gateway, a web-based grants management system. All grantees must be registered in the Grants Gateway to enter into a contract and to receive grant payments. Registration is NOT an online process. Register as soon as possible (PDF) to allow time for processing and postal mail delivery.

To become familiar with the Grants Gateway (leaves DEC website), award recipients should read the Grants Gateway Vendor User Guide (PDF) and the Grantee Roles Document (PDF), which provide information on navigating the system, setting up user accounts, and roles and responsibilities of various user types.

All eligible applicants and award recipients should visit the NYS Grants Management website (leaves DEC website) for information about grant contracting with NYS and review the New York State Master Contract for Grants (MCG) (PDF). For additional contract details specific to the CSC grant program, see the CSC Program Specific Terms and Conditions (PDF); for the ZEV Rebate Program see the ZEV Rebate Program Terms and Conditions (PDF) and for ZEV Infrastructure Grant Program see the ZEV Infrastructure Grant Program Terms and Conditions (PDF).

Climate Change Mitigation Easement:

Pursuant to the requirements of Title 15 of the Environmental Protection Fund (Environmental Conservation Law (ECL) §54-1501 et seq.), the grantee must own the property upon which the proposed development, improvement, restoration, and/or rehabilitation project will be implemented, or obtain a climate change mitigation easement (CCME) from the owner of the project site. A CCME must develop, execute, and file with the appropriate County Clerk's office a CCME That ensures the following:

  • The property shall be accessible to the municipality for any necessary work to achieve the funded purpose throughout the anticipated life of the project.
  • The property shall provide the identified public benefit throughout the anticipated life of the project.
  • The property shall be used to achieve climate protection and mitigation goals pursuant to ECL Article 54, Title 15 "Climate Smart Communities Projects" throughout the anticipated life of the project.
  • The property owner shall provide information and data to the municipality or will provide access to the municipality for collection of data, as specified in the grant contract.
  • A ten-year minimum term for the easement is required to adequately reflect the expected useful life of the project.
  • The easement is to be enforced as a conservation easement pursuant to ECL Section 49-0305and 6 NYCRR Part 492.

A CCME template is available to assist grantees with appropriately structuring the CCME

Other Grants for Climate Action

See below for additional grant funding programs available to help communities reduce greenhouse gas emissions, plan and implement climate adaptation strategies, and improve resilience to climate change. Opportunities are available for municipalities and not-for-profit organizations.

Click the links for details on each individual program including eligibility requirements, funding availability, and application deadlines.

Department of Environmental Conservation Grants
Hudson River Estuary Grants
Mohawk River Watershed Grants
Marine Habitat Restoration and Resiliency Grants
Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI) Grants (leaves DEC website)
New York's Great Lakes Basin Small Grants Program (leaves DEC website)
Department of Agriculture and Markets Funding Opportunities (leaves DEC website)
Department of State Funding Opportunities (leaves DEC website)
Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve Student Research Opportunities (leaves DEC website)
EPA Clean School Bus Rebate Program (leaves DEC website)
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Solicitations and Funding Opportunities (leaves DEC website)


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