EASTHAMPTON — The city is preparing to take its commitment to combating climate change to a new level now that the City Council has signed off on two key measures that will qualify Easthampton for a Climate Leader Community designation.

Councilors this week adopted a specialized building code that officials believe will change the future of building construction in the city, and agreed to an amendment to a fuel-efficient vehicle measure that will strictly prioritize zero-emission vehicles in future municipal purchases.

These two changes will help the city earn the Climate Leader Community designation, which in turn could open up new funding opportunities that officials hope to use for climate-conscious projects.

“It’s basically a level-up from being a Green Community,” Cassie Tragert, Easthampton’s conservation agent, said during Wednesday’s council meeting. “We are a green community, we’ve been a green community.”

Easthampton has been a Green Community since 2010. Both of these designations are outlined by the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER), and require that municipalities make certain efforts and provisions to combat climate change in tangible ways.

Becoming a Climate Leader Community means taking provisions from the Green Community requirements a step further. To be eligible for Climate Leader Community status, a municipality needs to be a Green Community in good standing, have a local body that advises the municipality on clean energy and climate initiatives, commit to ending on-site fossil fuels use in municipal operations by 2050, commit to a municipal decarbonization road map, adopt a zero-emission vehicle first policy, and adopt the specialized opt-in building code.

Through Easthampton’s Energy Advisory Committee and Climate Action Plan, which is being finalized, the city already met all but the last two requirements. After the recent amendments, it checks all of the boxes, Tragert said.

She anticipates submitting an application for the Climate Leader Community designation to the state before she leaves her city post at the end of July.

“We’ve gathered a lot of momentum through the Climate Action Plan development,” she said.

The Specialized Code the city adopted lays out guidelines for all new construction projects in a municipality, pushing for the construction of primarily electric homes and buildings.

“It’s a critical piece to address the climate emergency,” said Tragert.

Easthampton had already adopted the Base Code and the Stretch Code, which represent the two levels of green building considerations below the Specialized Code, in order to receive its Green Community designation. Each of these codes requires certain environmentally-conscious measures to be taken in building construction in an effort to make those buildings more energy efficient.

Under the Specialized Code, mixed energy use is available but comes with requirements for solar generation and pre-wiring for future electrification. The code addresses the construction of municipal, commercial, and residential buildings, but only applies to new construction projects.

“Generally speaking, all-electric homes are the cheapest way to build a home,” said Chris Mason, the Western Massachusetts Green Communities coordinator.

The zero-emission vehicle amendment is designed to create a clearer hierarchy that puts zero-emissions vehicles first when considering new purchases.

Tragert emphasized that this amendment “doesn’t require any compromises for performance, safety standards, or cost.”

The council voted unanimously to enact both measures, deciding that the Specialized Code would go into effect at the beginning of January, in keeping with the roughly six-month implementation timeline adopted by most other municipalities.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.