Counting What We Consume: A Conversation with NYC Chief Climate Officer Rohit Aggarwala and Food Policy Director Kate MacKenzie

In April 2023, New York City launched its new integrated greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory for measuring local contributions to climate change. For the first time, the city is counting emissions from the food and other goods and services that New Yorkers consume. While buildings (35%) and transportation (21%) remain the top sources of local emissions, the new inventory reveals that food is the third major source of local emissions, accounting for 20% of city emissions. In announcing the results of the new inventory, Mayor Eric Adams committed to reducing carbon emissions from food purchases across city agencies by 33% by 2030.  He also urged the private sector to reduce its food-based emissions by 25% in the same period.

In this webinar, Rohit Aggarwala, NYC’s Chief Climate Officer and Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, and Kate MacKenzie, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Food Policy, will unpack the city’s new approach to inventorying GHG emissions and initiatives to reduce food-related emissions.

FEATURING

Rohit T. Aggarwala, Chief Climate Officer, New York City; Commissioner, NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)

Kate MacKenzie, Executive Director, NYC Mayor’s Office of Food Policy (MOFP)

MODERATED BY

Katrina Wyman, Wilf Family Professor of Property Law, NYU School of Law; Faculty Director, Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law

REGISTER HERE