Website Comment Summary
Many comments in this category are qualitatively similar and synergistic with those offered for other goals, especially air quality, congestion, and energy. Nearly all comments are supportive of the overall climate change goal, but some concerns are clear regarding whether NYC can truly make a meaningful difference in the climate realm, and whether a 30% reduction may be too conservative a goal for 2030.

Reducing emissions from the transportation sector represents the largest proportion of comments. Many wish to accomplish the overall goal of reducing traffic through congestion pricing, higher bridge tolls, a citywide carbon tax, promoting carpooling and transit use, and creating incentives and infrastructure for cycling. To reduce emissions of the cars that remain, suggestions include tightening automobile emissions standards and promoting hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles.

Encouraging efficiency, conservation, and green energy are three consistently voiced goals. Comments present a diverse list of potential targets for new efficiency standards and incentives, such as appliances, insulation, lighting, heating, air conditioning, and thermostats. Inventive comments suggest that the city require electricity prices to change on an hourly basis, conduct energy audits for all property transfers, require efficient lighting on all scaffolding throughout the city, and impose an enhanced sales tax (or ban) on incandescent bulbs. Many encourage incentives for green buildings, stronger energy codes, increased education, enhanced recycling, tree planting, and green roofs. Finally, many support the creation of incentives for renewable energy technologies such as residential and commercial solar, rooftop wind, tidal turbines, and distributed generation. To best promote these activities, comments advocate developing strategic partnerships between government and business, and advertising all available funding sources and opportunities to developers and the public.

Others focused on what the city government itself can do to reduce its carbon emissions. Suggestions include requiring city buildings to meet green building standards, mandating the use of hybrid and alternative-fuel cabs and city vehicles, upgrading city vehicle emissions controls, turning off lights at night, requiring a city renewable portfolio standard, and publicizing the city’s own climate change efforts in order to encourage private actions.

Town Hall Comment Summary
Reduce Vehicular Emissions
The greatest number of suggestions for this goal addressed the reduction of vehicle emissions by: incentivizing vehicles using cleaner fuels or hybrid technology (with particular mentions of targeting city fleets, taxis and buses), promoting biking and walking by improving bike and pedestrian infrastructure, enforcing idling laws, increasing the use of mass transit, and reducing car usage.

Reduce Emissions from Buildings
Participants from all boroughs also voiced support for improving the energy efficiency and environmental performance of buildings. The most common suggestions included: "build more green roofs," "expand and enforce the Green Building Law," encourage or require the use of compact fluorescent lighting, improve efficiency of heating and cooling systems, turn lights off in city/school/commercial buildings at night, and generally retrofit buildings to be more energy efficient. There was an individual suggestion to "increase education amongst developers and landlords."

Promote Conservation, Recycling and Education
The next most common category of suggestions involved the promotion of environmental education and consciousness, with a focus on educating the public about global warming and its effects (with particular mention of students and landlords), promoting composting (with a suggestion that composting be "specifically managed by the Department of Sanitation), increasing and improving recycling, emphasizing conservation and reuse of products, and encouraging businesses and the city (which "should be a role model") to purchase "recycled goods" or "green supplies." An individual also suggested that "green purchasing patterns" be encouraged in general.

Miscellaneous
Numerous calls were made to "expand tree plantings" and other vegetative cover throughout the City. Policy-oriented suggestions included: implement a carbon tax, "use market-based techniques to control emissions," and "promote environmental pricing versus market pricing of goods." Several participants also pointed to increasing alternative energy sources such as solar ("give major tax breaks or incentives"), vertical wind turbines, hydro, tidal, and waste-to-energy. With respect to increased violent storms or rising sea levels due to global warming, participants called for better preparedness measures and education.

Community Leader Comment Summary
Reduce Vehicular Emissions
Community leaders from four boroughs provided numerous ideas for reducing vehicular emissions by lessening "overall car usage in NYC." Ideas echoed those expressed for Goal 2 (Improve Travel Times), including more bike infrastructure, "end free parking in Manhattan," and congestion pricing. In addition, several ideas were provided for minimizing vehicular emissions through the promotion of lower-emissions vehicles (such as "small cars," hybrid vehicles, electric buses or other vehicles using bio-fuels) and the establishment/enforcement of emissions regulations.

Reduce Emissions from Other Sources
Regarding other sources of greenhouse gas emissions, community leaders highlighted cleaner industries, improved waste handling/recycling performance, more efficient green buildings, and cleaner energy sources. Several suggestions were made to establish more incentives or regulations to "cap industrial emissions" and "encourage green industries in NYC." Individual comments were made to lessen consumer impact on greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging shopping bag re-use and taxing plastic goods.

Other Policy Support
Policy suggestions included: establish or participate in carbon markets, plant more trees, push for federal policy change, increase regional cooperation, increase public education, and "equitably distribute benefits throughout all initiatives."