Brian Laird on WNYC, now we continue our 30 issues and 30 days election series.

Let the corporate media focus mostly on the horse race.

We continue on New York Public Radio to center the issues that will affect all our lives and compare the candidates on those.

From mayor of New York and governor of New Jersey, most of all, those two.

Today it's issue 22, New York City's climate change law as an issue in the mayoral race.

It's an issue because the law the city council passed in

2019 requires many buildings, whether they're co-ops, condos, rentals, or commercial buildings,

to cut their carbon emissions by 40% by the year 2030. That's because buildings, did you know this?

Buildings are by far the biggest greenhouse gas emitters in the city, way more than cars,

for example, which is what a lot of people think of first with respect to greenhouse gases, right?

But for many buildings, this will be very expensive.

For example, replacing old boilers in the basement that burn fossil fuels for the whole building

with electric heat pumps in every unit. According to Crane's New York business,

Curtis Lewa opposes the law altogether and says if elected he would try to get it repealed.

Andrew Cuomo, according to Crane's, told a private meeting of co-op board presidents that he's

open to modifying the law's penalties.

Zeran Mamdani has recently softened his position from vowing to enforce the law by, quote, taking on the

real estate industry, unquote, to promising more recently, according to Cranes, to have the city buy heat

pumps and other things in bulk and then give them to many buildings for free. So let's take

a closer look with Caroline Spivak, Crane's report are covering climate, energy, and transportation.

Caroline, great to have you on for your reporting on this. Welcome back to WNYC.

Hi, Brian. Good to be here. Let's go over some basics. I see the stat that New York City

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