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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 412-10
September 30, 2010

MAYOR BLOOMBERG RELEASES INVENTORY OF NEW YORK CITY GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS

Total Emissions, Including From Municipal Government, Fell from 2008 to 2009

City is on Track to Achieve PlaNYC Carbon Reduction Goals

Citywide Per Capita Energy Use Declined from 2008, as New Yorkers and Their Buildings become More Energy-Efficient

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today released the 2010 Inventory of New York City Greenhouse Gas Emissions, the City's fourth annual comprehensive carbon inventory. Completed pursuant to Local Law 22 of 2008, the inventory details the sources and levels of greenhouse gas emissions citywide and details emissions from municipal government operations. The inventory also reports progress on the ambitious emissions reduction goals in PlaNYC, the Mayor's long-term vision for a greener, greater New York. The entire city, including the City government, reduced emissions in 2009 below 2008 levels, putting the City on track to achieve the carbon reduction goals in PlaNYC.

"Three years after launching PlaNYC, we are already seeing significant reductions in our carbon emissions," said Mayor Bloomberg. "But we have to keep the pressure on to continue our progress. We will never meet the ambitious goals we set in PlaNYC without solid data to measure our progress; as I've always said: if you can't measure it, you can't manage it."

"Because we have vibrant neighborhoods built for walking and a good transit system, New Yorkers lead less carbon-intensive lives than other Americans," said David Bragdon, Director of the Mayor's Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. "The challenge is to build on that foundation by making our buildings more energy-efficient and continuing to shift to non-carbon sources for our electricity supply." 

In 2009, New York City emitted 49.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, a 12.9 percent reduction from 2005 levels and a 4.2 percent reduction from 2008 levels, even though the City's population grew and the number of buildings increased. The reductions are attributed to less carbon-intensive and more efficient electricity generation, reduced per capita energy consumption, and reduced emissions of sulfur hexafluoride, a potent greenhouse gas. The City is on track to achieve PlaNYC's goal of a 30 percent reduction in citywide greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels by 2030.

In fiscal year 2009, municipal government greenhouse gas emissions were 3.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, 1.1 percent below fiscal year 2006 levels and 3.5 percent below fiscal year 2008 levels. These reductions occurred largely as a result of less carbon-intensive and more efficient electricity generation, City improvements in the efficiency of streetlights, reductions in emissions associated with the transport of solid waste to final destinations outside the city, and reduced City government energy consumption. The inventory shows that the City is on-track to achieve its goal of a 30 percent reduction in municipal government greenhouse gas emissions below fiscal year 2006 levels by fiscal year 2017, as outlined in the Long-Term Plan to Reduce Energy Consumption and Greenhouse Gas Emissions of Municipal Buildings and Operations, first released in July 2008.

An analysis of the data contained in the inventory reveals that New Yorkers as individuals are becoming more energy-efficient, as per-capita energy consumption declined from 2008 to 2009 after accounting for modeled weather impacts. Future greenhouse gas inventories will be subject to external effects of energy market price fluctuations and increased variability in weather patterns, which may lead to an increase in emissions. Future inventories will continue to track the progress the City is making toward achieving its greenhouse gas reduction goals.

The City's first greenhouse gas inventory, released in April 2007, set the benchmarks from which the City's greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets in PlaNYC are based. To view the inventory, visit www.nyc.gov.







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