Just in time for Earth Day, New York City has issued a new sustainability plan, one that focuses on means as well as ends. Like the initial plan issued by the Bloomberg administration in 2007, the Adams plan is grounded in reality and is both aspirational and operational. Its strategy is to deploy the resources of the Inflation Reduction Act, federal infrastructure funds, and the $4 billion New York State Environmental Bond Act to accelerate New York’s transition to a sustainable city. The plan includes a focus on protection from climate threats, such as extreme weather, and assistance to building owners as they decarbonize their buildings. It connects protection of environmental quality via investments in green space and clean water to quality of life, and includes enhancements to our transportation system and recycling of food waste. The plan emphasizes what it terms the “green economic engine” and highlights the business and employment opportunities of the green economy.
The first of the plan’s nine guiding principles focuses on pragmatic action. According to the plan, the city must:
“Act with urgency and focus on implementation. The policymaking and legislation of the last 16 years has left a significant amount of work on the table. In some cases, this is by design, knowing that projects can take decades; in other cases, it is due to pandemic-related delays or the unimagined complexity of implementing groundbreaking climate laws and policies. This plan prioritizes implementation and getting sustainability done.”
Read more at: Columbia Climate School
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