NYC passes its own ‘Green New Deal’ in landmark vote
“You cannot overstate how big a deal this is,†said one advocate
By Caroline Spivack Apr 18, 2019, 4:30pm EDT
The New York City Council passed a pioneering package of bills Thursday that seeks to drastically slash carbon emissions from thousands of buildings across the boroughs—marking a watershed moment in the city’s fight against climate change.
The bundle of six bills, known as the Climate Mobilization Act, is geared toward reducing the city’s planet-warming emissions by setting caps for a variety of building types, with the goal of achieving a 40 percent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. Landlords who don’t adapt their buildings will face hefty fines.
The most dramatic measure would require buildings of more than 25,000 square feet—which are responsible for 30 percent of the city’s carbon emissions—to conduct retrofits, such as new windows and insulation, to make those buildings more energy-efficient. The aggressive bill is a crucial step toward protecting the city’s vulnerable costal communities, said the Queens Council member who spearheaded the legislation.
https://ny.curbed.com/2019/4/18/18484996/nyc-council-passes-climate-mobilization-act-green-new-deal
