After fierce opposition from building owners, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has dropped an important initiative of his plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The plan originally called for all buildings of 50,000 square feet or more to be audited in order to determine which renovations would make them most energy efficient, and for owners to pay for many of those changes. Building owners were nearly unanimous in their view that the plan would be far too costly, especially in the midst of a recession.

Bloomberg still wants to move forward with the proposal to require energy audits, but is currently leaving the decision to undertake the challenges called for in the hands of building owners.

The initiative would have put New York far ahead of other major cities in the green-buildings movement. A number of cities require that newly constructed buildings be energy efficient, but do not impose those requirements on existing properties. Nearly half the square footage of New York City – some 22,000 buildings – would have been affected by the plan.

According to Stuart Saft, chairman of the Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums, “It’s another unfunded mandate, and this is just not the time for it. Come back in five years when we’re past this recession. At this point, it’s just a slap in the face.”

City officials attempted to play down the change after the announcement, saying the package of bills would still make important strides in energy efficiency. It would require large commercial buildings to measure and provide information to tenants about individual energy use, which typically results in lowered usage. The plan would also create the city’s first energy code for all buildings.

In New York, buildings account for roughly 80 percent of total carbon emissions. Mr. Bloomberg has stated that he wants to reduce the city’s emissions by at least 30% by the year 2030. The City Council is scheduled to take up the package of legislation on Wednesday.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about renewable energy