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Legislation would keep NYC building owners from buying their way out of climate law
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Feb 13, 2025
Modified Feb 16, 2025
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Photo by Liao Pan/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Feb 13, 2025
Modified Feb 16, 2025
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After more than five years of heated debates, two city councilmembers introduced legislation Thursday to keep building owners from buying their way out of complying with city’s landmark climate law.
Local Law 97 requires owners of buildings larger than 25,000 square feet to complete energy efficiency upgrades, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% before 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. The regulation targets roughly 50,000 of the city's largest buildings.
But some lawmakers and advocates are concerned about a carve-out in the city’s law that allows landlords to purchase renewable energy certificates, also known as RECs, instead of reducing their building emissions. The RECs subsidize other renewable energy projects in New York state, like the Champlain Hudson Power Express project that aims to connect the city to new sources of wind and hydropower from Quebec, Canada.
The rules allow landlords to offset about half their pollution caused by electricity consumption by purchasing the credits. The new bill sponsored by Councilmembers Carmen de la Rosa and Lincoln Restler would reduce that limit to 10%.
“By limiting the use of RECs, we're really ensuring that the intent of Local Law 97 is honored,” de la Rosa said. “As the climate crisis continues to be exacerbated across the world, and certainly felt in our city here, we want to make sure that there is an actual intent for folks who are in our city to meet those objectives truly.”
The bill faces intense opposition from the real estate industry.
“Local Law 97 already imposes devastating fees on property owners with limited pathways to compliance,” Christopher Santarelli, spokesperson for the Real Estate Board of New York, wrote in a statement. “Adding more obstacles in this process will not only push our economy and housing inventory into distress but disincentivize support for efforts to decarbonize our built environment moving forward.”
Upgrading buildings to comply with the law can cost up to $40,000 per apartment, according to a 2022 estimate by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Advocates argue it can be cheaper to purchase RECs instead of investing in efficiency upgrades.
DOB spokesperson Andrew Rudansky said the REC provision aims to help advance the state's environmental goals, not create a workaround
“The Department of Buildings is committed to helping building owners make progress on manageable compliance pathways allowed by the law that will increase building energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and help them save money by reducing long-term utility costs," Rudansky wrote in a statement.
Still, some advocates say RECs undermine the spirit of the climate law.
“ If future REC prices are low, then yes, it could be a lot cheaper to purchase RECs than to upgrade the building,” said Pete Sikora, campaigns director for the advocacy group New York Communities for Change. “If they're low, then this is a gigantic loophole that a huge number of building owners will use.”
Advocates, including Sikora, think the legislation has a good chance of passing the City Council this year. Representatives for Mayor Eric Adams did not respond to inquiries about the mayor’s support for the bill.
Correction: This story was updated to clarify how the renewable energy credit provision to Local Law 97 functions as well as the carbon emissions generated by the city's largest buildings. It was also updated with a statement from a city Department of Buildings spokesperson.
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new york city
environment
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Rosemary Misdary
Rosemary is health & science reporter. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 646-544-9524.
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