New York City aims to be carbon neutral by 2050

The day after Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris climate accord, New York mayor Bill de Blasio said the president’s home city was going to take a different path.

Subways will be expanded to draw cars from
New York's roads under a new plan for the city to
 slash emissions 

Now the US’ largest city has released a plan that aligns its future to the most ambitious target of the Paris deal – limiting global warming to 1.5C.

On Tuesday, de Blasio released a citywide plan that outlined the first three years worth of measures as the city seeks to cut emissions by 80% below 2005 levels by the middle of the century. The plan – called 1.5C: Aligning New York City with the Paris Climate Agreement – also called for the city to offset all remaining carbon pollution by 2050.

To achieve “carbon neutrality” in just over three decades, the plan says New York will lead the development of a “global protocol”. It said this could include large scale renewables, carbon sequestration and carbon offsets to account for all residual pollution.

Read the ClimateHome story by Karl Mathiesen - “New York City aims to be carbon neutral by 2050.”