Laws and actions will drive a nearly 30% additional reduction in greenhouse emissions by 2030 and spur tens of thousands of good jobs
Mayor de Blasio today announced New York City’s Green New Deal, a bold and audacious plan to attack global warming on all fronts. It is comprised of $14 billion in new and committed investments, legislation and concrete action at the City level that will ensure a nearly 30 percent additional reduction in emissions by 2030. The laws and investments of New York City’s Green New Deal will directly confront income inequality, generating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs retrofitting buildings and expanding renewable energy.
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“Every day we wait is a day our planet gets closer to the point of no-return. New York City’s Green New Deal meets that reality head on,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “We are confronting the same interests that created the climate crisis and deepened inequality. There’s no time to waste. We’re taking action now, before it’s too late.”
New York City is not only taking steps to adhere to the Paris Climate pact, it is frontloading the most significant greenhouse gas reductions for the coming decade, before it’s too late. The City is going after the largest source of emissions in New York by mandating that all large existing buildings cut their emissions - a global first. In addition, the Administration will convert government operations to 100 percent clean electricity, implement a plan to ban inefficient all-glass buildings that waste energy and reduce vehicle emissions.
The Green New Deal policies are laid out in “OneNYC 2050: Building a Strong and Fair City,” a new, comprehensive plan to prepare our city for the future and leading the way for the nation on how to address the existential threats posed by climate change, economic insecurity, inequity, and rising global intolerance.
Combined with the de Blasio administrations previous actions, the actions announced today will lead to a nearly 30 percent reduction in emissions citywide. In combination with actions taken prior to this administration, New York City on track to achieve a 40 percent reduction in emissions from a 2005 baseline by 2030 -- the breaking point to turn back the most devastating and irreversible consequences of climate change.
The announcements today will reduce our emissions by the following percentages from a 2005 baseline:
10%: Mandating that all large, existing buildings implement retrofits to be more efficient and lower emissions – a global first.
6%: OneNYC initiatives to further reduce emissions including more renewable energy, expanded energy efficiency in buildings and reduced reliance on fossil fuel vehicles.
5%: Pursuing a deal to power 100% of City operations with clean electricity sources like Canadian hydropower.
2%: Cleaning up vehicle fleet and implementing congestion pricing.
The above actions will account for a 23 percent reduction in emissions. Previous actions taken by the de Blasio administration, such as phasing out dirtier heating oil, have already resulted in a 5 percent reduction. The total reduction secured through actions of the de Blasio administration will reach 28 percent. When added to reductions made under the prior administration, New York City will reach a total emissions reduction of 40 percent by 2030 and putting ourselves on track for full carbon neutrality by 2050.
New York City’s Green New Deal
- Committing to carbon neutrality by 2050, and 100% clean electricity. The City will pursue steep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and source 100% clean electricity, while creating green jobs and holding polluters responsible for climate-related costs.
- Requiring buildings cut their emissions – a global first. With the passage of the building mandates law, New York City is the first city in the world to require all large existing buildings of 25,000 square feet or more, of which there are 50,000 citywide, to make efficiency upgrades that lower their energy usage and emissions – or face steep penalties.
- Banning new inefficient glass-walled buildings. The City will no longer allow all-glass facades in new construction unless they meet strict performance guidelines, making inefficient glass-heavy building designs a thing of the past.
- Hydro-powered City government. The City, working with partners, will pursue 100 percent carbon-free electricity supply for City government operations with the building of a new connection linking New York City to zero-emission Canadian hydropower. Negotiations will begin right away, with the goal of striking a deal by the end of 2020 and powering city operations entirely with renewable sources of electricity within five years. This action is the equivalent of converting the entire state of Vermont to clean energy.
- Mandatory organics recycling. The City will make organics collection mandatory citywide, expanding the country’s largest organics management program, including curbside pickup, drop-off sites, and support for community composting opportunities.
- Reducing waste and carbon-intensive consumption. The City will end unnecessary purchases of single-use plastic foodware, phase out the purchase of processed meat, reduce the purchase of beef by 50 percent and commit to a carbon neutral City fleet by 2040
- Aligning with U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals. With OneNYC, New York City was the first city to map our local strategy to the SDGs and to submit a Voluntary Local Review to the United Nations. The Voluntary Local Review monitors New York’s advancement toward the goals, identifies areas where we can learn from others, and addresses remaining challenges. By demonstrating directly in our strategy how OneNYC aligns with the SDGs, we strengthen our efforts to build a strong and fair city and deepen the city diplomacy that makes New York City a leader on the world stage.
Preparing for the Effects of Climate Change
- Comprehensive resilience planning. The City is executing our $20 billion resiliency plan to address the growing threats of coastal storms, sea-level rise, extreme heat, and increased precipitation with projects and programs across the city. These investments will save lives and people’s homes as New York prepares for the effects of climate change that are already locked-in.
Solving our Transportation Challenges
- Help New Yorkers get moving. The City will support the implementation of congestion pricing to reduce traffic in Manhattan and help fix our broken subway system, while also improving bus speeds 25 percent by the end of 2020. We will speed up our buses through expanded and improved bus lanes, stronger bus lane enforcement, and signal improvements that prioritize buses as they travel through city streets.
- Reclaim city streets. The City will meet the needs of the public by ensuring better buses to increase efficiency in all five boroughs; increasing off-hour deliveries to help ease congestion; and creating People Priority Zones that restrict vehicular access, create public spaces, improve safety, reduce congestions, and improve air quality. We will start with a zone in Lower Manhattan to test a potential expansion citywide.
Ensuring Social Equity and Jobs
- Promoting New Yorkers’ health. The City will guarantee health care for every New Yorker, to create the most comprehensive, universal coverage in the nation for uninsured New Yorkers, regardless of ability to pay or immigration status. The City will focus on ending the opioid epidemic and deploy engagement teams alongside first responders to support people with mental health and substance misuse needs.
- Building a fairer city for all. The City will explore expanding the IDNYC municipal ID card to enable banking access for the more than 1 million underbanked New Yorkers; and will continue protecting tenants from displacement and supporting working New Yorkers by aggressively enforcing fair wage and work regulations.
Since the launch of the original OneNYC strategy in 2015, New York City has been a global leader in progressive policies that serve all New Yorkers and secure a sustainable future. Amid this progress, our city and its residents continue to face numerous challenges today. These include pervasive social and economic inequities; at-risk infrastructure; and an exposed and endangered waterfront threatened by a climate change emergency. OneNYC is our blueprint to meet these challenges head-on.
OneNYC lays out our aspirations for the City we want to build by 2050. It contains eight goals that respond to core challenges facing New York City today; 30 initiatives the City and our partners need to undertake to meet those goals by 2050; and more than 80 specific new metrics and targets to guide City leaders and hold us accountable.
The OneNYC strategy was developed following months of engagement with a diverse cross-section of 16,000 New Yorkers from across the city. The City convened a 39-member Advisory Board of community leaders, advocates, elected officials, and policy experts, as well as 26 regional leaders to discuss shared challenges and opportunities to collaboratively address shared regional needs. In the coming months, the de Blasio administration will continue the conversation with residents, civic leaders, and elected officials to refine initiatives and encourage civic engagement.
“Here in New York City, we recognize our climate crisis for what it is - an emergency - and also that what matters most is not words, but action,” said Daniel Zarrilli, NYC’s Chief Climate Policy Advisor and OneNYC Director. “With today’s release of OneNYC 2050, we are demonstrating to the world what a green new deal looks like in practice. Taking on the fossil fuel industry, getting our emissions to net zero, building greater resiliency citywide, and creating an inclusive economy - these may not be easy, but they are necessary if we are to secure a livable future for the next generation. And by taking action now, we are building a strong and fair city for all New Yorkers.”
“If someone tells you the Green New Deal won’t work, tell them to come to New York City,” said Mark Chambers, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability. “There are no sidelines in the fights against global warming and inequality – either we act or we forfeit our future.”
“Our investments in resiliency are focused on ensuring New York City is prepared to withstand and emerge stronger from the impacts of climate change,” said Jainey Bavishi, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Resiliency. “Climate change presents an unprecedented threat, but with the Green New Deal we have the opportunity to address inequality, create thousands of new jobs, and build a stronger and more resilient city for generations of New Yorkers to come.”
