Trump’s notoriously wasteful real estate properties will be forced to go green under new bill
President's hometown of New York city passed one of most sweeping climate change bills worldwide
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump’s hometown is going green — and forcing the president’s real estate properties to take part in the venture.
The New York city council passed a sweeping measure to address global warming last week called the Climate Mobilisation Act. The bill creates strict environmental regulations for many of the Big Apple’s largest buildings in an effort to reduce carbon emissions.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio has expressed his support for the legislation and is expected to sign it in the coming days.
The act requires buildings larger than 25,000 square feet to instal insulation and new windows, while cutting carbon emissions by 40 per cent in 2030.
While some of New York’s skyscrapers and well-known building have taken steps to meet the challenges of climate change, Mr Trump’s properties have routinely been cited as some of the city’s biggest polluters.
Two of the top ten “elite” least energy-efficient residential buildings in New York were Trump-branded properties, according to a 2015 study conducted by An Alliance for a Greater New York. The president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is also accused of owning some of the city’s biggest polluter properties.
Once signed into law, New York’s Climate Mobilisation Act will serve as one of the largest climate initiatives passed worldwide, CBS News reported Sunday.
“President Trump might scrutinise or even outright deny the existence of climate change, but New York City is committed to fighting its drastic effects, which pose a serious threat to our future,” council member Costa Constantinides told the outlet. Ms Constantinides is one of the Democrats on the council who spearheaded its climate change response efforts.
She added: “Reports show Trump Tower and other properties are among the dirtiest emitters in the Big Apple. These are the bad actors we need to hold accountable, because their emissions make everyone’s air dirtier, fuel more violent weather and put the future of New York city in jeopardy.”
At least one of Mr Trump’s golf courses in Ireland has already filed applications for new construction efforts, writing in those filings that a wall between the course and the sea was now required due to “global warming and its effects.”
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