NYC's Version Of The Green New Deal Could Impact Trump-Owned Buildings Big Time

A new piece of environmental legislation could have a direct impact on the president's name, but not in the way you might think. An environmentally-focused bill was passed by the New York City Council last Thursday, and would require thousands of buildings in the city to adhere to stricter regulations. And yes — the bill, which CBS News reports has the support of Mayor Bill de Blasio, will force Trump-owned buildings in New York City to follow these new climate-friendly changes, too.

Per CBS, the Climate Mobilization Act was passed last Thursday, and is considered the city's version of the Green New Deal. And though the Trump Organization isn't mentioned explicitly within the bill, at least one of the members of the city council did address Trump's buildings, specifically. To CBS, Council Member Costa Constantinides, a Queens Democrat who spearheaded the effort, said,

President Trump might scrutinize 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 ... 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.

Bustle has reached out to the Trump Organization for comment.

According to the New York City Council site, the "centerpiece of the package is a bill that will require large and medium-sized buildings, which account for nearly a third of all greenhouse gas emissions in the city, to reduce their emissions 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050." You can read the full list of goals for city within the bill here.

Though de Blasio still has yet to physically sign this bill, he has signaled his wholehearted support on several occasions. In a video posted to his Twitter account on April 19, de Blasio said in part,

We need to protect this city and this country and this world from global warming. There's no national policy to do it right now. There's no federal plan to address climate change. We have to do it ourselves, in this city and cities all over the country...We have to do something, and we have to do it now. And we need the help of the federal government, but we're not waiting. We have to fight for the bigger changes, like the Green New Deal. We have to believe that we can protect our planet, and protect our people, but it's not going to happen if the federal government doesn't step up. In the meantime, New York City is going to do all we can to make sure that people will survive whatever is in store.

According to The New York Times, the Climate Mobilization Act is an unprecedented piece of legislature for one reason in particular: it tackles the problem of building-caused emissions in a given city with a specific plan and path forward for those same buildings.

To The Times, John Mandyck, the chief executive of the Urban Green Council, said, “This is huge. I haven’t seen a city that has tackled climate change head-on in a way like this, setting specific targets for buildings and providing a path forward for how they can comply through innovative policy tools." In other words: POTUS might not have to address the Green New Deal any time soon, given the Republican-controlled Senate, but innovative climate change policies are going to impact his name, either way.