New York isn't waiting for Congress to pass the Green New Deal. In April, the New York City Council passed its own comprehensive version: the Climate Mobilization Act. This legislative package aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from an often overlooked source—buildings, which are responsible for 67 percent of the Big Apple's emissions.

"Real estate is the city's most polluting industry, and this bill is necessary to achieve a mandated 80 percent reduction in NYC's emissions by 2050," says Lisa DiCaprio, conservation chair of the Sierra Club's New York City group, which advocated for the legislation. It calls for hefty energy-efficiency upgrades beginning in 2024 for buildings 25,000 square feet or larger.

Then in June, the state assembly passed the even broader Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which aims to achieve a statewide net-zero economy and cut emissions by at least 85 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. It will also ensure that 35 percent of the clean energy and efficiency funds are spent in disadvantaged communities.

At a time when the federal government is rolling back environmental safeguards, these sweeping regulations will put New York among the most progressive states on climate change and provide an essential road map for transitioning to a green economy.

This article appeared in the September/October 2019 edition with the headline "The Green Apple."