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NY is introducing its own Green New Deal
REBNY has sought to oppose the proposed legislation, which would require massive retrofits of thousands of buildings over 25K sf
As Washington debates the controversial Green New Deal, New York City is forging ahead with its own measures in a bid to curb climate change.
The city council will announce Thursday a batch of proposed legislation, dubbed the Climate Mobilization Act, that aim to curb carbon emissions in the country’s largest metropolis and would force landlords to cut emissions by 40 percent by 2030, according to HuffPost.
The most drastic measure would require landlords with buildings over 25,000 square feet to conduct retrofits like new windows and insulation that would make the building’s more energy efficient. It would affect the Empire State Building and Trump Tower, among other properties.
The Real Estate Board of New York has already taken steps to oppose the measure, and at a hearing in December, reportedly forged alliances with other industry groups, including hospitals and the Catholic Church.
The proposed legislation isn’t “cognizant of short-term realities,” REBNY’s vice president Carl Hum reportedly said at the time.
Other measures in the act, which would be implemented by 2024, would require solar panels or plants to cover the roofs of some buildings, or install miniature wind turbines. A second batch of legislation, that is expected to be introduced in coming months, would require all school buses to be electric. [HuffPost] — David Jeans