New York: US President Donald Trump’s business empire will have to pay a heavy price for pollution caused by Trump-owned buildings in New York.
Eight of his properties in New York City do not comply with new regulations designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions. This translates to the Trump Organisation paying fines of $2.1m every year from 2030, unless its buildings are made more environmentally friendly.
City officials said the president’s eight largest New York properties pump out around 27,000 tons of planet-warming gases every ear. The buildings that exceed the new pollution thresholds include Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, and the Trump Building on Wall Street.
The biggest potential offender is Trump International Hotel & Tower, a skyscraper looming over the south-west corner of Central Park. The building is on course to be fined $850,871 a year.
The New York mayor, Bill de Blasio, will hold a rally outside Trump Tower seeking to highlight looming penalties.
“President Trump, you’re on notice,” de Blasio said. “Your buildings are part of the problem. Cut your emissions or pay the price.”
The fines are part of legislation passed by the city council in April that seeks to cut planet-warming emissions from the city’s largest buildings.
