New York City Mayor Eric Adams has released the Big Apple’s fifth climate plan, PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done, which aims to protect New Yorkers from climate threats, improve quality of life and build a green economy.
The plan was developed with input from the New York City Climate Cabinet, consisting of representatives from more than 35 city agencies and offices, the Sustainability Advisory Board and stakeholders. The focus of the sustainability plan is on execution and implementation, delivering on promises made to New Yorkers and creating an equitable, healthy and resilient future.
“We’re in this together, we will get through this together, and I am so proud of the work we are doing to protect our city, Mother Earth and all New Yorkers from the effects of climate change,” said Mayor Adams in a statement.
“New York City has already taken major steps to become more sustainable, resilient, and equitable, including breaking ground on the Lower East Side Resiliency Project, passing Local Law 97 to reduce building emissions, and rapidly electrifying our city’s fleet, which is already the greenest in the nation. But we are just getting started… We are taking these efforts to the next level with PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done, which will increase resilience, protect our infrastructure, and save lives.
“This plan is about making sure our seniors can afford an air conditioner and their monthly utility bill to keep cool during increasingly hot weather, providing [an] opportunity for our young people to get the education and training they need to become part of the new green economy, and making sure all New Yorkers have an opportunity to drive an electric vehicle, put up solar panels, or retrofit their home, no matter where they live or work. We have so much to be proud of and so much to protect, and PlaNYC will create a cleaner, greener, more just city for all.”
What does the New York climate plan contain?
PlaNYC: Getting Sustainability Done also highlights opportunities to leverage available state and federal funding sources, and comes in tandem with calls from Mayor Adams to ensure New York City receives its fair share of federal and state funding. Actions in the plan specifically focus on taking polluting vehicles off the streets, offering more affordable renewable energy options, putting trash to work, and lowering emissions from every major source — buildings, transportation and food.
The plan also sets a road map for how New York City can more quickly and meaningfully meet some of the most pressing challenges of climate change and, at the same time, expand the green economy, foster innovation, build new industries, and create more and better jobs for tens of thousands of New Yorkers.
[Read more: New York City appoints first-ever rat czar]
