According to the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice, over two-thirds of the city’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from buildings. To address climate change and the contribution from building emissions, in April 2019, the City Council passed the Climate Mobilization Act (CMA), which is a legislative package aimed to reduce GHG emissions. Local Law 97 is central to the CMA because it sets decreasing GHG emissions limits for the city’s largest buildings, so they are reduced by 40% by 2030 and minimized to net zero by 2050.
Local Law 97 came into effect in 2024, and applies to “covered buildings,” which are buildings over 25,000 gross square feet or multiple buildings on the same tax lot that cumulatively exceed 50,000 gross square feet. While there are exceptions based on the type of building, life science buildings generally fall under the definition of covered buildings.
Annual GHG emissions limits vary based on occupancy group and type of space. The GHG emissions limits for occupancy group B non-production laboratories are higher than other types of spaces, and are outlined in Article 320 (§28-320 of the NYC Administrative Code) and the Rules of the City of New York (1 RCNY §103-14). The annual building emissions limit for laboratories from 2024 to 2029 is the building intensity emissions limit (or 0.02381 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per square foot (tCO2e/sq. ft.)) multiplied by the gross floor area; by 2040, the building emissions limit for laboratories is reduced to 0.01301 tCO2e/sq. ft. multiplied by the gross floor area.
Covered building owners must file annual compliance reports that summarize their yearly GHG emissions based on fuel usage and utility energy consumption, to demonstrate that the building’s emissions are within established thresholds. The first report is required to be submitted by May 1, 2025, and must summarize GHG emissions for the 2024 calendar year. There is a one-time grace period in 2025 that permits late report submissions until June 30 without penalty. After that deadline, there are penalties for late submissions and non-reporting.
There are also penalties for covered buildings that exceed annual GHG emissions limits. To prevent exceedance penalties, building owners can request emissions limits deductions based on greenhouse gas offsets or renewable energy credits. Building owners can also request emissions limits adjustments due to circumstances based on building operations. The deadline to submit an adjustment request to the Department of Buildings is January 1, 2025.
For additional information on Local Law 97 and how it may affect your building, please contact us!
This blog was written by Rae Moore, Safety Partners’ Senior Quality, Research, and Training Specialist.
