New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Chief Climate Officer and New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala today released the city’s first integrated greenhouse gas inventory, which incorporates emissions from the production and consumption of food. Those emissions represent 20 percent of New York City’s overall emissions — the third largest source, behind buildings (35 percent) and transportation (21 percent).

In response to the new inventory, Mayor Adams and Mayor’s Office of Food Policy (MOFP) Executive Director Kate MacKenzie also announced that the city will reduce absolute carbon emissions from food purchases across its city agencies by 33 percent by 2030.

“New York City is leading the world when it comes to combating climate change, because we’re using every option on the menu in our fight — and that includes changing our menus, too,” said Mayor Adams. “This new emissions report shows us that plant-powered food isn’t just good for our physical and mental health, but good for the planet as well. We’ve already made great strides in reducing our food emissions by leading with plant-based meals in our public hospitals and introducing Plant-Powered Fridays in our public schools. Now, we know we need to go further. That’s why today, we’re committing to reducing the city’s food-based emissions at agencies by 33 percent by 2030 and challenging our private sector partners to join us by cutting their food emissions by 25 percent in the same time period.”

“In Fiscal Year 2023, the New York City Department of Aging served nearly 3 million nutritious meals to older New Yorkers, and under Mayor Eric Adams we continue to make changes to these programs to reduce the negative environmental impact they have” said New York City Department for the Aging Commissioner Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez.

The new inventory shows that 20 percent of New York City’s greenhouse gas emissions come from household food consumption — primarily from meats, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products.

“Fighting the climate crisis requires a comprehensive, all-of-the-above approach to reducing carbon emissions in our city,” said U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler. “I’m proud to support today’s commitment which will reduce food-based carbon emissions by 33 percent while also engaging the private sector to do their part. Together, these initiatives will bring New York closer to fulfilling the carbon-neutrality goals of the Paris Agreement.”