The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (Port of NY/NJ) has announced that preliminary data shows the agency met its interim target of a 35% reduction in direct greenhouse gas emissions by 2025.

The agency also remains firmly on track toward its longer-term goals of a 50 percent reduction of direct emissions by 2030 and full net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The projection comes as the agency continues finalizing its emissions inventory, with results expected to confirm reductions driven by major sustainability investments across Port Authority operations. Final figures will be released upon completion of that review later this year.

Port of NY/NJ said in 2021, the port authority became the first U.S. transportation agency to commit to full net-zero carbon emissions and the first to sign on to the Paris Climate Agreement. The agency released a comprehensive net-zero roadmap in 2023, outlining dozens of concrete steps toward reaching those goals.

"Reaching this milestone is the result of years of disciplined, agency-wide action, from the solar arrays powering our airports to the electric vehicles in our fleet to the greener standards we've set for every contractor who works with us," said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole.

"The Port Authority made a promise to this region and to the planet, and preliminary data shows we are delivering on it. We have set a net-zero goal by 2050 that spans every facility we operate and every partner we work with, and this is what following through on that commitment looks like."

Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia noted that every electric vehicle that the agency put on the road, every solar panel it installs, moves Port of NY/NJ closer to net-zero.

"This projection reflects the cumulative impact of investments made across every part of this agency and it gives us strong momentum heading into the next phases of our ambitious, industry-leading plan: reaching a 50% emissions reduction by 2030 and full net-zero emissions by 2050," Garcia added.

The agency's projected achievement of its interim emissions goal is based on the previous years' trajectory of emissions reductions, anticipated energy use, the purchase of renewable electricity, and ongoing investments across the agency’s facilities and operations.

Final figures will be released upon completion of the agency’s annual greenhouse gas inventory review later this year. 

The Port Authority has undertaken a sweeping, agency-wide sustainability agenda since the release of its net-zero roadmap in 2023, spanning aviation, maritime, rail, and infrastructure.

The roadmap presented a comprehensive plan comprised of more than 40 actions to achieve its 2050 goal of net-zero carbon emissions, as well as interim targets of a 35 percent reduction in direct emissions by 2025 and a 50 percent reduction by 2030.

The roadmap covers electric vehicles and equipment, building decarbonization, solar expansion, and cooperative actions with tenants and contractors across all facilities.