The administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio is putting the final touches on its efforts to combat climate change and create a more sustainable city, with significant short- and long-term challenges at play, major decisions to be made in the mayor’s final months in office, and questions about its policy choices.
Ben Furnas, the director of the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Sustainability, points to key accomplishments of the last several years as well as new announcements and upcoming areas where the de Blasio administration is looking to make progress before handing over the reins to the next mayor on January 1.
During that same show, ALIGN Executive Director Maritza Silva-Farrell expressed concern about policy implementation when it comes to climate change and related issues like transit. She mentioned 2019’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, a landmark state law that requires New York to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and at least 85% by 2050 from 1990 levels. She worries that the state isn’t moving quickly enough on implementation, including the lack of follow-up legislation to ensure funding for the transitions required.
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