NEW YORK CITY—Mayor Bill de Blasio has announced that New York City plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 80% over 2005 levels by 2050. The plan—called One City, Built to Last: Transforming New York City's Buildings for a Low-Carbon Future—includes the intention to retrofit public and private buildings to dramatically reduce the city's contributions to climate change while spurring cost savings and creating new jobs.
This effort makes New York the largest city to commit to the 80% reduction by 2050 and charts a long-term path for investment in renewable sources of energy and a total transition from fossil fuels. Nearly three quarters of New York City's greenhouse gas emissions come from energy used to heat, cool, and power buildings, making building retrofits a central component of any plan to dramatically reduce emissions, according to the Mayor's office.
Every city-owned building with any significant energy use—approximately 3,000 buildings—will be retrofitted within the next ten years, by 2025, with interim goals along the way. The city also will spur private building owners to invest in efficiency upgrades, setting interim targets and incentives and implementing mandates that trigger if interim reduction targets are not met.
“Climate change is an existential threat to New Yorkers and our planet. Acting now is nothing short of a moral imperative,” says de Blasio. “New York City must continue to set the pace and provide the bold leadership that's needed—and becoming the world's largest city to commit to an 80% reduction in emissions by 2050 is central to that. By retrofitting all of our public buildings with significant energy use in the next ten years, and by partnering with the private sector, we'll reduce emissions and improve efficiency while generating billions in savings and creating thousands of jobs.
Adds US Housing and Urban Development secretary Julián Castro. “We're committed to dedicating a team within HUD to work with NYCHA to make this effort a reality. Through energy performance contracts, HUD already has leveraged more than $1 billion across the country to retrofit aging public housing buildings, and we look forward to expanding this program in New York City.”
As part of the program, the city will require buildings over 25,000 square feet to measure and disclose energy use annually, conduct energy assessments, and upgrade lighting. The current mandate includes only buildings over 50,000 square feet. The retrofitting of approximately 20,000 private buildings will take place through a “retrofit accelerator” program, making up an estimated 15% of citywide built square footage. Two-thirds will be multifamily buildings, and roughly 40% will be government-assisted affordable or rent-stabilized buildings.
In addition, the city will create a green grant program for affordable housing that will fund efficiency upgrades; incorporate efficiency measures into all Department of Housing Preservation and Development moderate rehab programs by requiring that all buildings undergo an energy audit as part of the capital needs assessment process; challenge the city's largest institutions and private sector leaders to commit to deep carbon reductions of 30% to 50% over ten years and more.
“Increasing energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions will help solidify New York's standing as the world's model of sustainability,” asserts Rob Speyer, chair of the Real Estate Board of New York. “Mayor de Blasio should be commended for his leadership, making New York the largest city to ever make this ambitious commitment, hopefully leading the way for other cities around the world to follow.”
“We applaud Mayor de Blasio's aggressive goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in New York and set us on a path to energy independence,” adds Bill Rudin, chairman of the Association for a Better New York and vice chairman and CEO of Rudin Management Company. “We are eager to work with the administration to develop a citywide retrofit plan that balances significant capital investment with the need to improve efficiency and utilize alternative fuel sources to ensure a cleaner New York.”
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
