New York City
Eric Adams
Emissions Goals
Transportation: Reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector by 70% by 2050 (from 2005 baseline); Increase share of trips by sustainable modes (walking, biking, and mass transit) to 80% by 2050; Reduce emissions from the City’s municipal vehicle fleet and achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.
Electrification: Electrification of the City’s municipal fleet to be carbon-neutral by 2040; Increase electric vehicle share of new motor vehicle sales to 20% by 2025.
Renewable energy: Increase share of electricity from clean sources to 100% by 2040; Unlock 500 MW of battery storage by 2025.
Zero waste by 2050: Increase the curbside diversion rate (from FY 2018’s baseline rate of 18.0%); Mandate organics recycling.
Buildings: Work towards net-zero emissions for all newly constructed buildings by 2030; Achieve net-zero emissions for all buildings by 2050; Increase flood insurance enrollments, using January 2019 NFIP policies in force as a baseline.
Sustainable Lifestyle: Reduce City purchasing of beef by 50%; Eliminate City purchasing of unnecessary single-use plastic food ware and switch to compostable, reusable, or recyclable alternatives.
Divestment/Investment: Divest $5B of city pension fund investments by 2022; Increase city pension fund investments into climate change solutions to $4B by 2021 (up from $2B as of 2019). Transportation: Reduce GHG emissions from the transportation sector by 70% by 2050 (from 2005 baseline); Increase share of trips by sustainable modes (walking, biking, and mass transit) to 80% by 2050; Reduce emissions from the City’s municipal vehicle fleet and achieve carbon neutrality by 2040.
Policies
Renewable energy: Since 2014, the City has grown its installed solar capacity by sevenfold. The City will continue to promote solar and other distributed energy generation in the city by requiring more solar and green roof installation on new construction, expanding accelerator programs to assist building owners with clean energy projects and the solar installation process, and continuing to work with utility and market partners to implement demand response and load management tools. The City will continue to make improvements to the utility distribution and transmission networks in order to open up the grid to existing and new renewables, in partnership with New York State, New York Power Authority, and the New York Independent System Operator. To directly connect the City to large-scale renewable resources, the City, in coordination with New York State, is pursuing investment in transmission of Canadian hydropower, which will result in 100% carbon-free electricity supply for City government operations. The City is also an active participant in New York State’s Reforming the Energy Vision proceedings, which aims to ensure the energy system becomes more efficient.
Buildings: The City is pursuing deep cuts in emissions and gains in efficiency across all buildings. Since 2015, more than 5,000 privately owned buildings have been retrofitted with assistance from the Retrofit Accelerator and community Retrofit NYC programs. In addition, more than 1,600 municipal buildings have been retrofitted. The City will continue to work to pass legislation mandating retrofits and develop rules for buildings over 25,000 square feet. Local Law 32 of 2017 introduced performance-based stretch-energy codes that require new construction to be built according to the latest efficiency standards. The City will continue to work towards the commitment of the Net-Zero Buildings Declaration for net-zero energy for all newly constructed buildings by 2030. The City will also pursue legislation to further regulate glass-walled buildings. Local Law 97 of 2019 requires that all buildings above 25,000 square feet dramatically reduce their GHG emissions, starting in 2024, or face steep penalties.
Transportation/Efficient Mobility: The City is promoting sustainable transportation options. The city will establish a citywide charging infrastructure with a goal of installing 50 fast-charging stations and pilot-testing curbside Level 2 charging in partnership with Con Edison. In addition, through the NYCx Climate Action Challenge, the City will launch a pilot to outfit light poles with chargers. The Mayor will also work with City Council to enact legislation requiring 40% of new parking spots to be “EV ready,” with 20% of spots containing EV chargers. The City will reduce the City’s fleet size and lower emissions by eliminating the use of unnecessary vehicles and limiting the number of SUVs. The City operates the largest electric municipal fleet in the country, with more than 2,100 electric vehicles and met its Clean Fleet goal of 2,000 EVs by 2025 over five years early (May 2019). The goal has been revised to 4,000 EVs by 2025. The Hunts Point Clean Truck Program (HPCTP), which provided rebate incentives for the purchase of advanced transportation technologies and alternative fuels, will be expanded to other industrial business zones. The City will explore incentivizing commercial vehicles to reduce emissions by establishing Green Loading Zones, which dedicate curb space for zero-emissions vehicles to pick up and drop off goods. High-polluting trucks will have restricted opportunities for loading and unloading. Additionally, the Department of Transportation launched a cargo bike pilot to provide sustainable last mile deliveries in NYC.