How NYC Can Reduce Emissions 80% by 2050

A new report calls for New York City to phase in more stringent building energy code standards in an effort to achieve Mayor Bill de Blasio's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent from 2005 levels by 2050.

Three-quarters of the city's emissions come from buildings, as does the majority of its electricity consumption. The mayor announced a plan last fall to encourage building owners to retrofit their properties to reduce emissions, saying if that doesn't work, the city could consider mandates that would demand lower building emissions.

But the report, Achieving 80X50, which was written by a non-profit think tank based in New Mexico, Architecture 2030, calls for mandatory standards. It suggests the city phase in energy code upgrades over the next few decades that are stronger than international building energy code standards. 

The report also calls for the standards to become more efficient every three years.

The city estimates that 80 percent of the buildings in place now will still exist in 2050, so any blueprint must include ways to reduce emissions in existing buildings.

The report calls for major building renovations to also adhere to the more stringent standards. 

"When a new owner comes in, the prices in New York are such that you're going to do financing anyway at that time, and to finance the additional amount to do the major renovation is not a big deal," said report author Edward Mazria, founder of Architecture 2030.

The city's landlords though are still reeling from last month's rent freeze handed down by the Rent Guidelines Board. To them, the new report, and the mayor's plan, come across as an unfunded mandate.

"You can't ask owners to comply with an updated energy code on one hand, and on the other hand, deny them the financial wherewithall they need to make those improvements," said Frank Ricci, director of government affairs at the Rent Stabilization Association.

The city convened a 38-member working group to make recommendations on how the city could reach the Mayor’s emission reduction goals; those recommendations are expected by year's end.

Additionally, the administration is expected to launch a retrofit accelerator this fall, to provide technical assistance and financial options and more incentives to owners who retrofit older buildings to curb emissions.