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In 2019, the City of New York passed Local Law 97 (LL97) as a part of the Climate Mobilization Act to reduce carbon emissions from buildings. This groundbreaking law puts caps on the carbon output of most buildings larger than 25,000 square feet, which make up around 50,000 of the residential and commercial properties across the city. These caps require the largest buildings to cut emissions and for the city to reduce annual emissions from city government operations starting in 2024, with decreases by 40% by 2025, 50% by 2030, and 80% by 2050.

Yesterday, the NY League of Conservation Voters, Riders Alliance, and Transportation Alternatives came together and held a rally at the steps of City Hall for the NYC Streets Plan. Together we advocated for a fully funded NYC Streets Plan in Mayor Adam’s Executive Budget and to increase the budget for funding to $3.1 billion.  If we are to improve the safety, accessibility, and quality of our transportation network and our City’s streets, we must fund and implement the NYC Streets Plan. This plan will help make existing transit infrastructure more efficient and reliable as well as make street infrastructure safer for pedestrians and cyclists.

The New York City Council recently held preliminary budget hearings for the Committees on Housing and Buildings, and Transportation and Infrastructure. For both of these hearings, NYLCV New York City Program Associate Carlos Castell Croke submitted testimony in support of expanding the city’s budgets to make existing plans to reduce emissions and improve transportation infrastructure more feasible. New York City buildings are easily the heaviest contributor to carbon emissions in the city, accounting for up to 70% of carbon emissions and 80% of total water usage. Decreasing building emissions is therefore vital in reducing the city’s overall carbon footprint. One key step the city is taking to address building emissions concerns is the passage of Local Law 97, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030, and 80% by 2050, fining those who fail to comply with emission reduction efforts. 

After another protracted budget session in the New York State Legislature, we are happy to say that this year’s budget has delivered for the environment. Some of the biggest wins to come out of the 2022-2023 budget negotiations are the $4.2 Billion in the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act of 2022, often referred to in Albany as the “Environmental Bond Act,” along with major wins in Wetland Protection, Electrification of School Bus Fleets and an extension in the Brownfield Cleanup program. While we were successful in including these major initiatives, there is still a lot of work to be done in the remaining weeks of the legislative calendar. 

As oil and gas prices soar to record highs for everyday consumers to bear the brunt of the burden while big oil companies profit, it is becoming more evident with each growing day that energy security and independence should be of utmost concern. Amidst the growing energy demand and the increasing greenhouse gas emissions, a recent Pew Research Center survey finds that around 7 out of 10 U.S adults believe that the country should prioritize the development of alternative energy sources, such as solar and hydropower, over expanding the production of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. 

​​Nearly one third of the waste New Yorkers produce is organic material. When this material ends up in landfills, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Through an organized composting process, this food waste would be collected, broken down, and recycled into fertilizer for plants and farms. According to an estimate from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, eliminating food waste across the state would remove 120,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents from the atmosphere per year. That’s the equivalent of taking over 25,000 cars off the road.