Tech for Local Law 97

Climate-tech leaders supporting a groundbreaking plan to reduce emissions in NYC

• Over 70 percent of New York's greenhouse gas emissions come from buildings.

• NYC Local Law 97, passed in 2019, is the world’s most important city-level climate and jobs law. It requires large buildings - the bulk of NYC’s real estate square footage - to slash their greenhouse gas emissions.

• The on-site energy efficiency upgrades that the law induces will create tens of thousands of jobs and drive massive capital investment for decades to come, plus lead to many health and quality of life improvements for everyday New Yorkers.

• Unfortunately, the law itself is now at risk.

• Sign our open letter to Mayor Eric Adams below

What is Local Law 97 and why is it important for climate action?

Why is the law currently at risk?

1. The first strategy aims to allow non-compliant buildings to delay penalties for years either outright or by filing a paperwork "plan/study" to reduce their pollution, despite having had sufficient time (over 4 years!) to prepare. Such a rule change could effectively gut the law by deferring emissions reductions indefinitely.

2. The second strategy involves offsetting onsite combustion emissions by purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs), which would allow owners to avoid reducing pollution from fossil fuel use in their buildings, even though emissions from on-site combustion constitute a majority of the emissions from NYC’s buildings and ~40% of the city’s total.

How can I take action?

How can I stay up to date on LL97 and this effort to defend it?

About us

Signatories to our open letter to Mayor Adams