New York, NY —

The city has released its first-ever study on how much carbon it releases into the atmosphere and Mayor Bloomberg says reducing carbon emissions will be a top priority for the remainder of his term. WNYC's Richard Hake reports.

REPORTER: Overlooking lower Manhattan from the 40th floor of the new 7 World Trade Center, Mayor Bloomberg pledged to cut carbon emissions by 30 percent by the year 2030. A city sponsored report found that as a whole the city released 58 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2005 and the number is expected to keep going up.

BLOOMBERG: I don't think that any reputable scientist would argue that we are not putting too many things into the air and nobody knows how quickly or how permanently the damage will be.

REPORTER: On Earth Day later this month, the mayor is making a policy speech in which he's expected to outline how exactly the city will further reduce emissions. Mayor Bloomberg says it's not only a city problem, but a global problem...and in that vein he's hosting a climate summit next month with mayors from cities around the world.

For WNYC, I'm Richard Hake.