NYC’s Local Law 97 and the Race to Decarbonize Buildings
NYC’s Local Law 97 and the Race to Decarbonize Buildings
by John Raskin, President at Spring Street Climate Fund
This spring, New York State garnered worldwide headlines by passing a law requiring new buildings to be built all-electric: no more dirty gas boilers or propane furnaces for new buildings throughout the state. New York is the first state in the country to pass such a law, and has already prompted discussion in other states about following suit; soon after New York’s gas ban for new buildings became law, the LA Times asked Californians, why not us?
But new buildings are only a piece of the puzzle. An estimated ⅔ of the buildings we will occupy in 2050 are buildings we already use; the thornier challenge is how to move these buildings to zero emissions.
New York City has an answer. Four years ago, the state passed what we call Local Law 97, the most aggressive building decarbonization law of any major city in the world. But today, the law is under attack, and the consequences could be dire: for New York, for ambitious policy around the globe, and in particular for the community of climate tech entrepreneurs, investors and leaders who are relying on New York to create a durable market for cutting-edge products. The world is watching, and everyone can do their part to make the law a success.
What is Local Law 97, and Why Does it Matter?
In Washington, they like to name their laws: we remember the Voting Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and, of course, most recently the Inflation Reduction Act.
In New York, we number ours, and when a law becomes particularly important the number sticks in the public imagination, like Michael Jordan’s 23.
Local Law 97 is one of those laws. Passed in 2019, it requires buildings of 25,000 square feet or more to reduce emissions over time, with limits set at different levels based on building types and uses. The allowed pollution level ratchets down over time to match the city’s climate goals. More than 80% of large buildings in the city are already in compliance with the 2024 limits set by the law, but it’s estimated that 75% or so of large buildings would have to take some steps toward energy efficiency and electrification to comply with the stricter 2030 limits.
Local Law 97 matters – not just in New York, where it will reduce air pollution, cut down on energy waste and produce thousands of jobs for city residents. It matters throughout the globe, where other cities, states and even countries are watching to see whether New York can succeed in its ambitious goals, and who are relying on New York to tackle the myriad questions and challenges to blaze a path for how a jurisdiction can tackle pollution from existing buildings.
That is why my organization, Spring Street Climate Fund, cares about the law. We identify opportunities for the state of New York (the 11th largest economy in the world) to enact climate policy that matters on a global scale, and we partner with grassroots organizations to win changes in the law. Local Law 97 is one of those opportunities: a chance for New York to take the lead and implement a policy that creates a powerful blueprint for cities across the globe.
Local Law 97 Under Threat
But Local Law 97 has opponents: some real estate owners who don’t want to undertake the headache (and upfront cost) of a transition off fossil fuels, and the entire fossil fuel economy that currently relies on delivering oil and gas to buildings in New York and across the globe.
Today, the law is under threat. Mayor Eric Adams has the discretion to delay implementation, grant exemptions and build loopholes into the rules, for example, to exempt building owners who are making a “good faith” effort to comply, a phrase the Mayor is unable to define.
For folks in the MCJ community, at the heart of building a new, fossil fuel-free economy, Local Law 97 means a market for cutting-edge technologies and products. Emerging industries need customers, and ambitious public policy like Local Law 97 can turn thousands of building owners into interested parties seeking solutions for pollution.
Building owners are looking to see if the City is serious about enforcing the law. Do they actually need to think about heat pumps and replacing hot water heaters and gathering better data to reduce energy use? If not, everyone can go back to business as usual and the planet can wait. But if so, there’s a great deal of work to be done – even by 2030, just a few years from today.
Climate Tech Community Can Help
So what can climate tech leaders, investors and supporters do to encourage full implementation of the law? Some are already banding together to stand up for the tech community and push New York to follow through on its promise. At www.techforlocallaw97.org, tech leaders are adding their names and their energy to an effort to highlight the benefits of the law – not just to speak up for the burgeoning climate tech industry but also to lay down a marker that the industry has a deeper mission to protect the planet from the worst outcomes of climate change.
Politics does not reward expertise; you don’t have to know your Local Law 97 facts and figures to show up. It rewards participation, and in particular, it rewards organized constituencies who join together to demand results. The more the merrier; if you care about building decarbonization and the fate of New York’s boundary-pushing law, take a moment now to add your voice to the chorus and guarantee you’re heard!
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It is hard to overstate the stupidity and unfairness of this local law. New York is already facing massive generation inadequacy forced by climate change activists ignoring reality and timing of actual alternative sources, so let’s add a lot of load, and impose tremendous costs on middle and low income co-ops and landlords. I live in an A rated co-op so we have time. We already replaced all of the lighting with LED’s and we will install a heat pump hot water system for the summers so we can turn off our large boiler sometime in the next few years. But the real reason for our 97 rating is that the building is on Riverside drive, benefits from the winds, has apartments that benefit from tremendous cross ventilation with the courtyard--and many of the people has summer homes and are away most of the summer. I’m sure a lot of Park Avenue buildings are also highly rated for the same reason. Meanwhile working people living in queens are facing huge expenses--for what exact benefit? Additionally, the penalties for dense high tech buildings in NYC that are Platinum LEED rated are perverse. Finally, the technology to meet these standards as they roll forward does not exist. Or will conflict with one of the other evils--Landmarks’ commission which won’t allow many potential solutions. This is a wonderful example of bad policy accomplishing little but penalizing people who live in one of the most energy efficient places on the planet. It is a wonderful way to create a backlash. So let’s not celebrate, but cry.