NYC’s First-Ever Greenhouse Gas Inventory
by Eric Kane, New York, NY on 04.11.07
Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg released the first comprehensive inventory of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in New York City’s history. The inventory will serve as the benchmark for reducing the City’s GHG emissions by 30% between now and 2030, a target the Mayor established during a speech last December. The inventory release will be followed by a policy speech later this month that will detail specific reduction plans. The analysis found that citywide GHG emissions were approximately 58 million metric tons in 2005, roughly 1% of the nation’s totals. According to the inventory, buildings account for 79% of the City’s emissions. In addition, citywide emissions were reported to have increased by approximately 8% in the last ten years, and are projected to increase by 25% above 2005 levels by 2030. Although GHG emissions have increased in recent years, an estimated 446,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide have been avoided annually through: energy efficiency projects, alternative fuel vehicles, landfill methane recovery, and the conversion of traffic signals to LEDs.
The Mayor also took the time to announce that New York will host mayors from some of the world’s largest cities at a C40 Large Cities Climate Summit in May. The Summit was developed to promote the role of cities in reducing GHG emissions and reversing global climate change. Bloomberg will host mayors from cities including: London, Paris, Tokyo, Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Moscow, and Istanbul at the event, which is scheduled for May 14-17. See also ::Bloomberg Talks Sustainability, ::Bloomberg To Create NYC 'Office of Sustainability', and ::NYC to Increase Recycling
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I'm sure all of us New Yorkers can do better, but remember we're 3% of the popluation, so 1% of the emissions is already ahead of the curve. And we only take up about .001% of the land.
With passive solar on our rooftops for winter heat and summer a/c, or green roofs, we'll do much better! Building management in New York is a science and the workers have a high level of training, so adding a few energy saving practices will be easy to integrate into their workflow.