De Blasio's climate rhetoric on the stump doesn't mirror reality back home

De Blasio — known in New York City for being shuttled from his mayoral mansion in a gas-guzzling SUV to his gym in another part of town — has made a recent habit of making grand pronouncements on his climate accomplishments. By DANIELLE MUOIO and DAVID GIAMBUSSO05/30/2019 05:00 AM EDTNEW YORK — Mayor Bill de Blasio is pointing to his mayoral record on climate change as he tries to gain traction in the Democratic presidential field, but almost six years into his tenure, much of his environmental resume is heavier on rhetoric than actual gains.De Blasio — known in New York City for being shuttled from his mayoral mansion in an SUV, albeit a hybrid model, to his gym in another part of town — has made a recent habit of making grand pronouncements on his climate accomplishments. But whether it's building emissions, organic waste collection or even protections in the event of another major storm, the New York City mayor's priorities seem to have been largely elsewhere during his tenure, and his actual accomplishments on climate often fall short of his oratory. “If the unlimited renewable energy credit purchases could be the loophole it sounds like, not only are you not creating new jobs, you’re not reducing emissions at the level and scale the crisis demands,” Bautista said.While building emissions are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the city, there are other climate issues where the mayor has not seemed to sense much urgency. “They’ll keep pointing to their books and brochures that tell you they have these visions, but many of these visions were produced without community input.”But where policies haven’t fully materialized, de Blasio should get credit for setting bold policy goals that drastically shifted expectations for the city’s environmental landscape, Bautista said.“His announcement declaring a zero-waste goal for New York City was pretty significant,” Bautista said. Proponents of the buildings bill say where it fails to encourage energy efficiency improvements, it will be made up by creating a bigger market for renewable energy.But a tendency to overpromise and underdeliver on signature initiatives has prevented de Blasio from earning a reputation as an environmental crusader.“It’s very much a mixed picture,” said Eric Goldstein, New York City environment director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.