NYC Passes Its Own Green New Deal to Combat Man-Made Climate Change

The New York City council passed its own version of the Green New Deal to combat man-made climate change as well as to transition towards renewable energies on Thursday, April 19. Signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio and passed by 45 members of the 51 membered legislative city council, the Climate Mobilization Act is a bundle of 10 bills that will maintain the nation’s largest city in line with greenhouse emissions reduction targets set by the Paris Climate Agreement as well as other international climate accords.

These new policies include officially establishing caps for a variety of buildings with the goal of reaching a 40% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and local landlords who own property would face hefty fines if they fail to adapt their own buildings. Other policies include phasing out municipal non-renewable energy power plants and creating a renewable energy loan program.

This is not the first time America’s largest and most powerful city has taken serious efforts to save the environment. Last year in 2018, the city government announced that it would divest its more than $189bn pension funds from non-renewable fossil fuel companies within the next five years and legally sue companies BP, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Shell to federal court due to their contribution to man-made climate change.