Buildings Called Key Source of City’s Greenhouse Gases

Laying the groundwork for a plan to reduce the production of greenhouse gases in the city, the Bloomberg administration released a study yesterday showing that New York’s roughly 950,000 buildings are responsible for a vast majority of the city’s carbon dioxide emissions.

In sharp contrast to the national average of about 32 percent, the city’s buildings are responsible for 79 percent of the greenhouse gases produced by the city and are being cut each year, according to the study, conducted by the city’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. Transportation systems, including mass transit, cars and trucks, are responsible for most of the remaining 21 percent of the emissions, which are considered a major factor in global warming.

The release of the inventory marked the first concrete step in Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s ambitious effort to set the city on a greener path as it plans for the addition of one million residents by 2030. In December, Mr. Bloomberg outlined goals to help guide the city’s growth in a more environmentally sound way, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent.

“Even though New Yorkers already generate less than a third of the carbon emissions that the average American does, we can and we must do more,” Mr. Bloomberg said in announcing the results of the study at a news conference in Lower Manhattan.

Officials said that the inventory was a critical tool in understanding the sources of the city’s emissions so that they could better devise strategies to reduce them. Still, they declined to provide details on how they would accomplish their goals, saying that the mayor would reveal his proposals on Earth Day, April 22.

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