What is Local Law 97?

Local Law 97 (LL97) is part of New York City's Climate Mobilization Act of 2019. The end goal is for the city is to be carbon neutral by 2050. The result is a phased program where buildings will be fined for exceeding the carbon emission limit beginning in 2025, with even more stringent emission limits (and thus po­ten­tially higher fines for noncompliance) going into effect in 2030. 

Fines per building are expected to range from tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Although only approximately 11 percent of buildings are expected to be fined in 2025, the extent of carbon emissions reduction required by 2030 is considerably more ambitious, resulting in the likeli­hood that 80 percent of New York City buildings will incur fines if they do not reduce their carbon emissions by the deadline.

You can estimate your building’s carbon penalties using Building Energy Exchange’s (be-exchange.org) emissions calculator.  

Fines for apartment buildings in occupancy group R-2 that have more than two units are calculated based on CO2 limits per Square Foot as follows: