Port Authority of New York and New Jersey set to meet interim 35 percent greenhouse gas reduction target

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that preliminary data shows the agency met its interim target of a 35 percent 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.

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.”

“Every electric vehicle we put on the road, every solar panel we install, every traveler who chooses PATH moves us closer to net-zero,” said Port Authority Executive Director Kathryn Garcia. “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 percent emissions reduction by 2030 and full net-zero emissions by 2050.”

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.

Direct emissions

Among the initiatives contributing to the agency reaching its commitment of a 35 percent reduction in direct emissions:

• Fleet Electrification: The Port Authority has met its interim goal of electrifying 50 percent of its non-emergency light-duty vehicle fleet, with 404 of 797 such vehicles now electric, supported by 305 EV charging ports across Port Authority facilities. The agency has committed to converting its entire non-emergency light-duty fleet to electric by 2028. The net-zero roadmap also targets replacing 50 percent of non-emergency medium- and heavy-duty vehicles with zero-emission alternatives by 2035, with a pilot program underway to begin transitioning emergency response vehicles to electric.
• JFK Long-Term Parking Lot 9 Solar Carport and Battery Storage System: The Port Authority and the New York Power Authority announced New York State’s largest onsite solar plus storage project, a 12-megawatt solar carport canopy over JFK’s Long Term Parking Lot 9 that will provide covered parking for approximately 3,000 vehicles, generate enough clean energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 6,000 tons annually, and help reduce airport energy use during peak periods through 7.5 megawatts of accompanying battery storage. The project will also include a 6-megawatt community solar generation facility that will deliver discounted clean energy to low-income residents in surrounding Queens neighborhoods.
• Newark Liberty International Airport Solar: Newark Liberty International Airport's Terminal A parking garage features a 5-megawatt rooftop solar array, the largest rooftop solar installation at any U.S. airport. It features 12,708 solar panels covering 364,000 square feet, which is the equivalent of more than six football fields. The solar project generates enough energy to power the equivalent of approximately 833 homes.
• Newark Liberty’s Building One Becomes Agency’s First Decarbonized Building: Dedicated in 1935 as the nation’s first air passenger terminal, EWR’s Building One became the Port Authority’s first building to undergo a full decarbonization retrofit with electric boilers, heat pumps, and other clean-energy tools, eliminating all fossil fuel use within the building. Building One is the prototype for a decarbonization program the agency plans to roll out across all of its buildings en route to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
• LED Lighting Upgrades Across Facilities: The Port Authority has systematically converted lighting at its buildings and facilities from conventional to LED technology. The upgrades significantly reduce energy consumption, lower maintenance costs, and improve safety and visibility. These include lighting upgrades at the agency’s crossings, including the George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, Bayonne Bridge, Goethals Bridge, and Outerbridge Crossing.

Indirect emissions

The Port Authority has also committed to reaching full net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, inclusive of emissions generated directly by the Port Authority as well as emissions generated by the agency’s wide universe of operational partners, tenants, and contractors, among others. The Port Authority has led ambitious sustainability partnerships with stakeholders, including airlines, terminal operators, concessionaires, ground transportation companies, construction companies, and electricity suppliers, among others:

• Sustainable Construction Requirements for Agency Contractors: The Port Authority issued a roadmap with strict sustainable construction guidelines for its current and future projects, requiring that any company seeking Port Authority construction contracts comply with sustainable building and emissions standards. The agency’s Clean Construction Program already requires diverting a minimum of 75 percent of concrete, asphalt, and steel construction waste from landfills, and mandates stringent emissions standards (Tier 4) diesel construction equipment on all job sites. Additionally, the Port Authority adopted new industry-leading sustainable concrete standards as a major milestone in its Clean Construction Program, significantly strengthening requirements to use sustainable concrete mixes in all future construction projects.
• Greener Operating Standards for Aviation Partners: The Port Authority’s net-zero commitment is unique in that it not only covers the agency’s direct emissions but also commits to facilitating net-zero transitions among the wide universe of tenants, operational partners and customers who use the agency’s facilities. The Port Authority issued sustainability guidelines for its aviation partners, establishing requirements and incentives covering airlines, terminal operators and other airport stakeholders. This includes a requirement to transition ground service equipment like baggage tugs, pushback tractors and belt loaders to zero-emission as models become commercially available. To date, more than 1,700 pieces of zero-emission ground service equipment are in use across Port Authority airports.

JFK welcomes world’s first transatlantic flight on 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel

The world’s first transatlantic commercial flight powered entirely by sustainable aviation fuel landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in November 2023. The milestone underscored the agency’s efforts to examine the viability of sustainable aviation fuel, including a published logistics and production study with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

JFK New Terminal One: Nation’s largest airport terminal solar array

During Climate Week NYC in September 2024, the Port Authority and the New Terminal One consortium broke ground on a 12-megawatt solar array of more than 13,000 solar panels on the roof of JFK’s New Terminal One, covering an area spanning nearly seven football fields and the largest solar array at any airport terminal in the country.

JFK Terminal 6: First pooled all-electric ground support fleet in North America

The Port Authority and JFK Millennium Partners announced an all-electric, pooled ground support equipment fleet for the new Terminal 6, the first of its kind at any airport in North America. The fleet will eliminate around 2,500 metric tons of CO₂ annually, the equivalent of driving a gasoline-powered car 6 million miles.

JFK electric vehicle fast charging expansion

The Port Authority and Revel opened a new EV charging site at JFK in March 2025 that more than doubled the airport’s available EV chargers, bringing 24 new fast chargers to the West Cell Phone Lot open to for-hire vehicles and airport patrons.

LaGuardia Airport electric vehicle fast charging station opens

The Port Authority and the New York Power Authority opened the first EV fast-charging station at LaGuardia Airport in February 2026, installing 12 high-speed chargers. The LaGuardia station is the single largest bank of chargers in NYPA’s statewide EVolve NY fast charger network.

LaGuardia Terminal B achieves second LEED Gold certification

LaGuardia Airport's Terminal B achieved LEED Gold certification for operations and maintenance from the U.S. Green Building Council in 2024. It was its second LEED Gold designation, following its 2021 certification for building design and construction, which made it the world's first airline terminal to earn LEED v4 Gold. The dual certification reflects the terminal's commitment to sustainability not just in how it was built, but in how it is run day to day.

Newark Liberty Terminal A LEED Gold certification

Newark Liberty International Airport’s (EWR) Terminal A achieved LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council, the most widely used green-building rating system in the world. The 1 million-square-foot terminal features the largest solar rooftop installation at any U.S. airport, water-efficient fixtures reducing potable water demand by more than 45 percent, a cool roof, and energy-efficient indoor lighting and controls.

Newark Liberty electric vehicle fast charging expansion

The Port Authority and ZAPP opened a new fast EV charging hub at EWR in September 2025, doubling the number of fast EV charging ports available at the airport to 16. The hub is located at the cell phone lot off Brewster Road, available for both airport users and for-hire vehicle drivers. These chargers are in addition to more than 150 level 2 electric vehicle charging stations available in the Terminal A garage, with capacity to expand.

$347 million EPA Clean Ports Award

The Port Authority was selected in 2024 to receive $347 million in federal funding through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Ports Program, the largest sustainability award in the agency’s history. The grant will support:

Deployment of electric cargo handling equipment at marine terminals, building on the Port Authority’s Marine Terminal Tariff requirements that phase out older equipment and mandate the transition to zero-emission cargo handling equipment as new models become commercially available

A Zero-Emission Equipment for Ports (ZEEP) Voucher Incentive Program to accelerate adoption of zero-emission drayage trucks, terminal tractors, and associated infrastructure

A Green Drayage Accelerator (GDA) program to deploy public and shared truck charging infrastructure

Installation of vessel shore power infrastructure to allow container and cruise ships to plug in while at berth and shut down their auxiliary engines

Establishment of a Port Community Advisory Council and expanded air quality monitoring in the Newark/Elizabeth environmental justice communities

Workforce training and job creation in the clean energy sector

Electric truck charging station at Port Newark

The Port Authority opened its first electric truck charging station at Port Newark in 2025, with four super-fast chargers located at the truck welcome center at Marlin and Kellogg streets. The installation required a full overhaul of the underground electrical system in partnership with PSE&G and included flood-risk mitigation measures.

Clean Vessel Incentive Program extended

The Port Authority extended and expanded its Clean Vessel Incentive Program, which provides financial incentives for container ships and cruise vessels to make engine, fuel, and technology upgrades and adjustments that reduce air emissions while in port. The program encourages the adoption of cleaner fuels, scrubber technology and reducing vessel speed near the port to lower fuel consumption.

Drayage Truck Replacement Program

The Port Authority continued a Truck Replacement Program that offers financial incentives to truckers to retire older, higher-emitting diesel trucks and replace them with newer, cleaner models. The program recently reached a milestone of 1,000 trucks replaced since its launch in 2010.

ExpressRail intermodal expansion

The Port Authority is investing in the buildout of its on-dock ExpressRail intermodal system at Port Newark and Port Elizabeth, enabling more cargo to travel by freight rail to the Midwest, New England, and eastern Canada instead of by diesel truck. Rail transport generates significantly less greenhouse gas emissions per mile than road transport, especially critical for cargo headed well inland.

Port Newark Container Terminal solar installation

The Port Authority, Port Newark Container Terminal (PNCT), and the city of Newark announced the completion of a 7.2 megawatt solar installation at PNCT that now generates 50 percent of the terminal’s annual energy needs and can feed excess power into the regional utility grid. PNCT is one of the world’s only container terminals to implement in-terminal renewable energy production of this magnitude.

New Midtown Bus Terminal designed for net-zero operations

Construction is underway on the Port Authority’s new $10 billion Midtown Bus Terminal, which the agency has designed to be net-zero emissions and built to accommodate all-electric bus fleets. The facility will include onsite renewable energy, electric charging stations to allow buses to charge during midday layovers, LEED certification, and zoned heating and cooling systems with heat recovery and reuse technology. A new storage and staging facility will consolidate bus operations off surrounding city streets, reducing idling and congestion. Upon completion, deck-overs above Dyer Avenue will be converted into 3.5 acres of new publicly accessible open green space.

All-electronic tolling

The Port Authority completed the transition to all-electronic, open-road tolling at all of its crossings in 2023, eliminating the need for vehicles to stop and idle at toll plazas. The shift reduces greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle queuing, improves traffic flow and safety, and allows for the removal of the physical toll booth infrastructure.

Major PATH service enhancements

PATH continues to introduce significant service enhancements across all lines and all times of day throughout 2026 and 2027, including seven-day service on all lines for the first time in 20 years. Each rider who chooses PATH over a car trip reduces vehicle miles traveled and associated tailpipe emissions. The agency’s ongoing investments to improve service frequency, reliability, and capacity are, at their core, sustainability investments.

Airport waste reduction and zero waste goals

The Port Authority has undertaken a broad range of waste reduction efforts, including a goal of achieving Zero Waste at its airports by diverting 75 to 90 percent of solid waste from landfills and incinerators by 2030. To advance that goal, the agency requires all airport tenants and operators to source-separate recyclables and organic waste according to state and local guidelines, maintain user-friendly composting and recycling infrastructure throughout terminals, eliminate certain hard-to-recycle single-use plastics and polystyrene containers, and report waste diversion data to the Port Authority twice annually. At Newark Liberty International Airport, a biodigester set to begin operations in the coming weeks will convert food and organic waste generated at the airport's back-of-house facilities from airport concessions into nutrient-rich fertilizer soil to supplement on-site landscaping.