The City Council is crafting legislation that would mandate buildings reduce carbon emissions by 20 percent between 2020 and 2030.
“I consider today a milestone in our quest to make New York City’s buildings greener, our infrastructure more sustainable, and our air significantly cleaner,” City Councilman Costa Constantinides said in a statement Monday.
The lawmaker’s remarks indicate the council is looking to give more muscle to the city’s goal of curbing carbon emissions 80 percent by 2050, Crain’s reported. The announcement comes after the Urban Green Council published a new environmental report last week on green legislation.
If the city’s legislation mirrors the UGC’s report, it would apply to 50,000 mostly residential buildings of 25,000 square feet or more.
Buildings would be given a green score based on an as-of-yet undetermined metric. Greener buildings could even be exempt from the mandate, but buildings as a whole would have to reduce emissions by 20 percent.
Companies like SL Green Realty, Vornado Realty Trust and Related Companies last week signed onto the Urban Green Council’s plan. [Crain’s] – Rich Bockmann