“The bill released by the Senate today is a welcome and necessary step forward for reducing pollution and battling climate change. The bill recognizes the role that cities must continue to play in slowing the pace of climate change and adapting to the environmental effects of global warming, especially around energy efficiency.

“The bill includes language that would let cities like New York set fuel efficiency standards for taxis – a common-sense step that would help clean the air and provide a guaranteed market for fuel-efficient cars.  I want to thank Senator Gillibrand and Congressman Nadler for their work on the green taxis bill. It is encouraging to see the federal government working to remove barriers to fuel efficient taxis instead of creating them.

“There are other provisions in this bill that would help New York achieve the ambitious goals we set in PlaNYC, our plan to build a greener, greater New York, and that would help the country tackle a difficult and growing problem that we can’t afford to ignore. I would like to thank Senators Boxer and Kerry and the Environment and Public Works Committee for their efforts on this bill, which will start the long overdue debate in the Senate on how to best fight climate change.”