When U.S. cities estimate the greenhouse gas emissions for which they are responsible, cities tend to focus on the emissions that come from activities within their borders and from generating electricity to meet local needs. This approach undercounts cities’ contributions to climate change because it leaves out the GHG emissions that come from the production of […]
Electrification of building heating systems is expected to play a central role in New York City and New York State’s long-term efforts to decarbonize its building stock. From a climate perspective, this makes sense; buildings will not be able to dramatically reduce their carbon footprints without moving away from onsite combustion of fossil fuels for […]
Impact fees are one-time charges imposed on new development as a condition of approval to offset the development’s impact on local infrastructure, services, and the environment. A revenue-raising tool, they are broadly based on the idea that new development should be responsible for paying for a share of the new or additional public infrastructure and […]
Has the Inflation Reduction Act altered the costs and benefits of electrifying buildings in New York? For instance, will the IRA accelerate the decarbonization of the New York State grid? And will it materially reduce the cost of installing heat pumps? With its slew of incentives for renewable energy and heat pumps, it seems […]
At the federal level, opportunities and incentives to decarbonize buildings expanded in 2022 due to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. However, many municipalities have seen their powers to steer building decarbonization curtailed in recent years. Notably, between 2020 and 2021, 20 states passed laws that limited local governments’ authority to regulate the installation […]
