Mayor Bill de Blasio delivered his seventh State of the City Address, unveiling his administration’s progressive vision for a carbon-free future. With two years left in his second term, de Blasio’s address provides the blueprint to protect future generations from the threats of climate change.
In accordance with his address, the mayor recently issued two executive orders that address this growing need to combat the effects of climate change. One order called for the electrification of the city’s fleet, and the second prohibits projects that aim to expand fossil fuel infrastructure projects.
“New York City is the greatest city in the world, but many New Yorkers have real fears that the city they love is slipping away,” says de Blasio. “From making Pre-K universal, to creating the safest big city in America, we have accomplished so much together, but we need to go much farther. We must make New York City easier to afford, protect the mom-and-pop businesses that make New York New York, and hand this city back to the people who make it so great.”
de Blasio unveiled the following proposals as part of his 2020 agenda:
- Investment in wind: To accelerate the growth of offshore wind, the South Brooklyn Marine Terminal in Sunset Park will be equipped as a new hub for staging, installing and operating turbines across the tri-state area.
- Double solar power: New York City will launch a new program to defray upfront costs of solar power, letting homeowners pay for them over years out of the savings on their energy bills.
- Make all city vehicles electric: The mayor has issued an executive order to have all on-road vehicles in the fleet be plug-in electric by 2040. By 2025, 4,000 vehicles will be replaced or converted to electric. By 2040, the entire city fleet will be fully electric.
- End the use of fossil fuels, including natural gas: By 2040, the city will stop using natural gas and other fossil fuels in large building systems, starting in government buildings.
- Stop new fossil fuel infrastructure: The city will stop any new infrastructure, such as power plant expansions, pipelines or terminals, from expanding the use of fossil fuels.
Executive Order 52 calls for the commitment to end the expansion of fossil fuel-related infrastructure, a comprehensive review of further fossil fuel-related projects, and agency cooperation related to fossil fuel expansion.
Executive Order 53 calls for the complete electrification of New York City by 2040, safe fleet design, and agency cooperation concerning the order.
You can read Executive Order 52 here and Executive Order 53 here
I’m glad I don’t live in NY! Going to be cold and energy will be the highest in the nation! Solar and wind power is only sustainable with government subsidies and of course high costs and taxes.
You might want to look into how many of our tax dollars go into subsidizing fossil fuel exploration and infrastructure every year…