San Francisco and New York City made a theme of this year's Earth Day: mandating emissions reductions from buildings.
"San Francisco could become the first city in the nation to require large commercial property owners to switch their buildings to 100% renewable energy," reports Dominic Fracassa.
San Francisco officials released the renewable energy mandates on Earth Day, as a step toward the city's goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
"San Francisco’s new plan for commercial buildings would roll out in phases, but the biggest structures are first in line. The 50 buildings in the city 500,000 square feet or larger must switch to 100% renewable electricity by 2022. Buildings between 250,000 and 499,000 square feet have to switch by 2024, and anything 50,000 square feet or larger has to switch by 2030," according to Fracassa.
Late last week, New York City announced its Climate Mobilization Act, which requires to buildings in the city to reduce emissions, also to commemorate Earth Day.
Read the full story: SF’s big buildings to take big step in reducing city’s emissions
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