Skip to main content

New York transit joins Paris greenhouse gas initiative

New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has joined the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. The Paris document seeks to keep a global temperature rise this century below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial level and to limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The SBTi is a joint partnership between United Nations Global Compact, the World Resources Institute, World Wildlife Fund and non-profit
November 13, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

New York’s 1267 Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has joined the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.

The Paris document seeks to keep a global temperature rise this century below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial level and to limit temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The SBTi is a joint partnership between United Nations Global Compact, the 4722 World Resources Institute, World Wildlife Fund and non-profit organisation CDP.

The MTA is to set targets to reduce greenhouse emissions across its transportation and non-transportation activities. It will be required to meet these goals within the next 15 years.

The targets may include bus electrification, the electrification of diesel-powered commuter rail lines, increased energy efficiency at facilities and working with vendors to reduce emissions throughout its supply chain. Emissions per-passenger-mile can be reduced by looking into increasing capacity across public transport modes, MTA says.

In a separate move, MTA is to complete more than 75 energy efficiency projects with New York Power Authority by the end of 2020. It will also aim to convert its diesel bus fleet to electric by 2040.

Related Content

  • November 9, 2012
    US ushers in reforms with new transportation bill
    On behalf of ITS America, Paul Feenstra maps out implications and opportunities for the ITS industry. A critical milestone was reached last month when the US Congress passed, and President Obama signed, legislation reauthorising the nation’s surface transportation programmes, breaking a nearly three-year log-jam which had stymied critical transportation reforms and delayed much-needed infrastructure projects. The law, numbered P.L. 112-141 but known as MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century),
  • March 8, 2023
    Aimsun solutions support new planning tool for low-carbon mobility
    The EU-funded HARMONY research project is behind a new planning tool to support sustainable transport policymaking. Aimsun scientific researcher Lampros Yfantis explains the key role of traffic simulation with Aimsun Ride in planning for on-demand mobility and logistics services
  • May 19, 2025
    More Chile scheduling for Optibus
    Metropol Group works within Santiago's Metropolitana de Movilidad
  • December 18, 2018
    California to require all bus fleets to be zero-emission by 2040
    The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has approved a statewide regulation which will require public transit agencies to gradually transition to fully zero emission buses by 2040. The Clean Transit regulation is expected to help transit agencies reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 19 million metric tonnes, nitrogen oxides by 7,000 tonnes and particulate matter by 40 tonnes from 2020 to 2050. CARB says the regulation will improve air quality, especially in low-income communities. It could also help