New York unveils plan to cut building CO2 emissions

NEW YORK: New York on Thursday revealed an initiative that would mandate thousands of buildings throughout the city become more energy efficient, the latest step in the city’s push to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

The plan would require that landlords of some 14,500 buildings with a surface area of over 25,000 square feet modernise boilers, water heaters, roofs and windows — or face annual fines according to the extent of the breach and size of the building, the mayor’s office said in a statement.

A skyscraper of over 1.7 million square feet, such as the iconic Chrysler Building, could incur an annual fine of some 2 million if its energy use significantly exceeds efficiency targets.

Under the new rules, landlords would need to meet those standards by 2030.

“We must shed our buildings’ reliance on fossi l fuels here and now,” said New York’s Democratic mayor Bill de Blasio in the statement, adding that the initiative was a bid to “honour the goals of the Paris Agreement.”

The 14,500 buildings in question — the city’s worst in terms of energy efficiency — account for 24 per cent of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the mayor’s office.

Me anwhi le , fo ss i l fue l consumption via boilers and water heaters is the primary cause of greenhouse gas emissions in the city, responsible for 42 per cent of the total. — AFP