First Climate Budget for the City

New York City’s first Climate Budget, led by the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget in collaboration with the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, integrates climate considerations directly into the city’s annual budget process, aligning investment decisions with goals for net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 and strengthened resilience to flooding and extreme heat. The process prioritises equity, reflects the best available science, and draws on local expertise through cross-agency collaboration. It will be updated annually to inform future budget cycles.

The FY 2025 Executive Budget ($111.6 billion) and FY 2024-2028 Capital Commitment Plan ($97.7 billion) include major allocations for energy efficiency and building electrification, sustainable transport, waste reduction, flood protection, and heat mitigation. Climate Budgeting provides a governance system for identifying the most impactful and cost-effective investments, supported by quantitative analysis of their potential climate benefits.

To support this process, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s City-based Optimization Model for Energy Technologies (COMET) — a TIMES-based optimisation model designed for urban-scale analysis — was updated and applied to New York City. COMET captures the full city energy system, including buildings, transport, and waste, and assesses both cost and emissions outcomes for different technology pathways. The project team forecasted three baseline scenarios through 2050 and modelled city actions that are: i) expected to meaningfully impact GHG emissions, ii) committed either through a local law, mayoral commitment, or executive order, and iii) funded in the budget or capital plan or will be carried out by mayor-appointed leadership. This initiative marked a significant milestone in urban climate planning, demonstrating the effectiveness of the TIMES model framework for city-level climate strategy development.