Giving Compass' Take:

• According to Global Citizen, New York City will be lowering its carbon footprint after a lawmaker called on large buildings to reduce their energy consumption by 20% come 2030. With electricity accounting for roughly 70% of the city's climate pollution, this new legislations is the first step to achieving sustainability.

• How can other large cities follow New York's model? What is the best way to fight climate change through urban policymaking? 

• Here is a guide for donors covering environmental issues and ways to get involved. 

A New York City lawmaker presented a bill on Monday that would require big buildings across the city to greatly reduce their energy use, which accounts for a large portion of the city’s greenhouse gas production, reports HuffPost.

The legislation is not only a win for climate change mitigation in New York — it could also set a new standard for cities globally.

Although it has not yet been finalized, the bill would mandate New York City’s largest towers to cut their energy consumption by 20% by 2030 and would require them to work toward reducing their energy usage by 40% to 60% by 2050.

As of 2016, 54.5% of the world’s population lived in cities and by 2030, this figure is expected to be 60%, according to the United Nations. However, the majority of these urban settlements do not look like New York. About a sixth of the world’s population — around a third of urban-dwellers or 1 billion people — live in slums. Cities are both hubs for global citizenship, where people from all backgrounds are interconnected by a common need for shared space and resources, yet also places where stark inequalities are most visible.

New York City’s bill to cut emissions could have a real impact on climate change and social inequality. For decades, those with money and power have polluted the city, at the health expense of low-income people and communities of color. With continued, citizen-led efforts, new legislation could set precedent not only for sustainability but for environmental justice in cities moving forward.

Read the full article about New York City lowering its carbon footprint by Sophie Maes at Global Citizen.