Author: Peter Bardaglio

Climate Action & the NY Fossil Fuel Industry

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The 2023 session of the New York state legislature is well underway at this point, and a flurry of important climate and clean energy bills have been introduced in the General Assembly and State Senate. Following the recent release of the state plan approved by the Climate Action Council, as required by the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), lawmakers are seeking ways to buttress its recommendations.

State legislators welcome Gov. Hochul for her 2023 State of the State address. Photo courtesy of NYS Senate Media Services licensed under CC By 2.0.

Given the potential of the various proposals to accelerate an equitable energy transition, it’s not surprising they have stirred up opposition and anxieties. In particular, the fossil fuel industry has mounted an aggressive lobbying campaign to undermine these far-reaching efforts and hamper the ability of the state to meet its climate targets.

A recent report issued by the nonprofit Public Accountability Initiative lays out in great detail the attempts of the industry to obstruct climate action in New York. It points out that millions of dollars have been spent by the industry and its supporters “to delay, water down and otherwise frustrate the implementation of the CLCPA and other key climate legislation.”

“Legislators, communities and other stakeholders invested in a cleaner, greener, decarbonized future for New York must stay vigilant around efforts by the fossil fuel industry to muzzle and erode” the state’s climate actions, the report warns.

Not only are the oil and gas industry representatives engaging in aggressive inside lobbying of legislators in Albany, they are working hand in hand with gas utilities to disseminate misinformation among the general public, muddying the waters and generating unwarranted fears. Deploying online ads and robocalls, they are raising the prospect of “power outages and cost increases.” “We need all energy options to keep the lights on and heat flowing,” they misleadingly claim.

The fossil fuel companies have been mobilizing their customers to contact state lawmakers and express their opposition to building electrification. What’s especially galling is that New York State hands out about $1.5 billion each year in tax subsidies to these companies, which are then turning around and spending a significant portion of the dollars to fund their misinformation and lobbying machine.

There is hope, however, that this time the industry will not be as effective as it has been in the past at stopping crucial climate action. Rich Schrader, New York State policy director at the Natural Resources Defense Council, notes that the oil and gas groups engaged in these tactics last year and have now lost the element of surprise. In addition, the advantages of new technologies such as cold-weather heat pumps have come into sharper focus.

“The politics have changed, information has changed, and the [federal] incentives are much clearer now,” he observes. “All that weighs against their propaganda.”

Turning Up the Heat on Climate Action in Albany

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The Climate Action Council has delivered a sound and comprehensive plan for meeting the crucial targets of the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which established the Council and charged it with putting together the plan. The question now is whether Gov. Hochul and the state legislature will step up and provide the necessary backing to ensure the plan’s success.

This year’s legislative session has been underway for too little time to reach any conclusions about the work of the General Assembly and State Senate, but the governor has laid out her priorities in the January 10th State of the State address, as well as in the proposed executive budget issued on February 1st. It’s a mixed record so far.

Renewable Heat Now rally at the state capitol on January 24. Photo credit: Sane Energy Project.

Hochul underscored once again her support for phasing out fossil fuel heating and appliances in new construction, a position she announced in last year’s executive budget. In addition, she backed the Climate Action Council’s call for a cap-and-invest program, a vehicle for funding climate action, and proposed modest programs to improve energy affordability.

But the governor’s actions fell short on several key fronts. Most important, she wants to push back the date for a phase-out of fossil fuels in newly-constructed small buildings to 2026 and to 2029 for high rise buildings.

These dates are one year longer than proposed in the final scoping plan and two years more than initially laid out in the draft plan. It’s a disappointing move, and flies in the face of mounting evidence that we need to speed up, not slow down, meaningful efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

Fortunately, the state legislature has the opportunity to rectify the matter and restore the dates originally called for the in the draft scoping plan. The All-Electric Building Act excludes fossil fuel from new buildings, starting in 2024 with buildings under 7 stories and then 2027 for larger buildings. 

The Renewable Heat Now campaign, which has brought together over 220 organizations (including TCCPI), strongly backs this approach, urging legislators to stick with the earlier dates. It also proposes the following:

  • A funding package that includes a Green Affordable Pre-Electrification (GAP) fund, low interest financing, and additional funding for the NYSERDA’s Regional Clean Energy Hubs. Many homes in New York State have crucial health and safety issues, including mold, lead, gas, and/or carbon monoxide leaks. These issues must be remedied before an energy audit can be done to determine how to weatherize the home, save money, and make it electrification-ready. Families need financial and technical help to afford these critical retrofits addressing health and safety issues in existing buildings. This funding is necessary to ensure a just energy transition for all New Yorkers.
  • The NY Home Energy Equitable Transition (HEAT) Act eliminates over $200 million per year in subsidies for new gas hookups, enables neighborhood-scale building decarbonization, and improves energy affordability by eliminating the costly “obligation to serve” gas regulation, and ensuring no household pays more than 6% of their income for energy.
  • The Energy Efficiency, Equity, and Jobs Act deploys funding for cost-saving energy efficiency retrofits where they are most needed, removes health hazards from homes so they can undergo energy efficiency retrofits, and ensures that the workers hired for energy efficiency upgrades come from disadvantaged communities.

Another important bill, part of NY Renews’ Climate, Jobs, and Justice campaign (and also supported by TCCPI), would eliminate over $330 million of the most egregious state subsidies handed out each year to the fossil fuel industry. The Stop Climate Polluter Handouts Act preserves tax exemptions that help low- to moderate-income households, including a home-heating credit and an agricultural exemption for small- to mid-sized farmers.

Together these proposals will significantly strengthen the state’s climate action plan and correct some of the serious flaws in Gov. Hochul’s climate agenda. The next few weeks in Albany will be telling, so now is the time to make our voices heard. 

The Climate Action Council Delivers

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The Climate Action Council, in a momentous step on December 19, approved the state’s Final Climate Scoping Plan in a 19-3 vote. This plan provides a detailed guide to reaching the ambitious climate goals delineated in the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, including 70% renewable energy by 2030 and 100% zero emission electricity by 2040. The ramifications are far reaching: New York must retire fossil fuel plants and stop burning fossil fuels like gas in buildings.

This critical milestone represents the culmination of over three years of collaboration and over a hundred meetings, and includes contributions from the Council’s Advisory Panels and Working Groups. The release of the Draft Scoping Plan exactly one year ago led to a public comment period that included 11 public hearings across the state and more than 35,000 written comments.

Meeting of NYS Climate Action Council

The first meeting of the Climate Action Council took place in March 2020. Photo credit: NYSERDA.

The scoping plan establishes a comprehensive foundation for dramatically lowering greenhouse gas emissions, electrifying buildings and transportation systems, securing climate justice, and advancing New York’s commitment to economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2050. It outlines changes in state policy that, if implemented, will not only move New York away from fossil fuels but also towards a just energy transition, one that will finally address the harm that pollution from conventional energy systems have inflicted on frontline communities. It identifies strategies to reduce the environmental burden of greenhouse gas emissions and associated pollutants suffered by these communities as well as address energy affordability.

The scoping plan makes clear that the benefits of the clean energy transition must not overlook workers and communities that have relied on the fossil fuel economy for their livelihood, and emphasizes that they should not be left behind.

At the heart of the scoping plan is a determination to make sure that the advancement of a clean energy economy results in new economic development opportunities throughout the state and supports long-term, well-paying jobs. At the same time, the plan offers recommendations regarding how to provide support and tools to workers and communities affected by the energy transition.

What happens if the plan is not implemented? The state estimates that the cost of inaction will exceed the cost of action by more than $115 billion. That’s a big price tag for failing to stave off runaway climate change and ignoring environmental justice and health concerns.

Make no mistake, the plan is not perfect. The final draft postpones the dates by which New York will move away from fossil fuel use for construction of new homes and commercial buildings, putting them off one year later than in the draft plan passed in December 2021. To take just one example, the prohibition of fossil fuels in new construction for single family homes will occur in 2025, not 2024. As Cornell Professor Robert Howarth, a member of the Climate Action Council, points out, this delay is especially disappointing given that the building sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Another area inviting scrutiny involves “renewable natural gas” and hydrogen for use in gas pipelines, a ploy by the fossil gas industry to extend its operation and profits into the future. Raya Salter, founder and executive director of the Energy Justice Law and Policy Center and member of the Climate Action Council, rightly terms these so-called alternative fuels “a dangerous distraction.” In her words, “there is at best a limited role for alternative fuels, which are in many cases infeasible, costly, untested, leak-prone and carbon intensive to produce.”

Despite these flaws, the scoping plan marks a crucial turning point in New York’s energy transition and establishes an important framework for moving forward. Next steps include presentation of the plan to the governor and state legislature, and the creation of new rules and regulations to take into account its recommended policy changes. As this process unfolds, we should all work to ensure that the scoping plan is funded and fully implemented to ensure a just transition for all New Yorkers.

NY Renews Seeks to Implement State Climate Law

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​The following piece appeared in the November 9th issue of the Tompkins Weekly.

Luis Aguirre-Torres’s recent decision to step down as the Ithaca city sustainability director came as a deep disappointment to many in Tompkins County. His plan to make the city carbon neutral by 2030 while making sure climate justice was central to this endeavor was ambitious and inspiring and embodied the spirit and vision of the Ithaca Green New Deal (IGND).

Fortunately, Rebecca Evans remains in place as the city sustainability planner. Her expertise, experience and talent, as well as a longstanding commitment to a just and equitable society, will help ensure that the IGND maintains its momentum. But the community also needs to stay engaged and support her work if the IGND is to meet its goals and continue serving as a national model.

Attendees at a recent climate rally in Ithaca.

Besides joining in local activism to promote the IGND, it is important that Tompkins County residents advocate at the state level for effective climate and clean energy policies. The passage in 2019 of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), the nation’s most progressive climate law, carved out the path for moving forward.

This landmark legislation calls for 70% renewable energy in the state by 2030, 100% zero emission electricity in the state by 2040 and an 85% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

NY Renews, a coalition of more than 320 environmental justice, community, faith, labor and multi-issue organizations, played a key role in getting the CLCPA on the books three years ago. Local organizations in the statewide coalition include Climate Justice Cornell, Sunrise Ithaca, Sustainable Finger Lakes and the Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative.

With the CLCPA signed into law, the fight has shifted to the enactment of legislation needed to achieve its critical goals. As part of this effort, NY Renews recently announced the public campaign launch for its Climate, Jobs, and Justice Package. The campaign seeks to build public support for this crucial set of bills ahead of the legislative session that kicks off in January 2023.

The Climate, Jobs, and Justice Package, if approved by the State Legislature, will rapidly decarbonize New York, make the state healthier and more equitable, ensure a just transition for workers and help create an accessible green economy for all. Overall, the bills individually and collectively advance the goals of the CLCPA.

Beginning Nov. 16, communities across the state will be rolling out the Climate, Jobs, and Justice Package, looking to make the promises of the CLCPA a reality. The Ithaca event, sponsored by Climate Justice Cornell and others, will be Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. at Thompson Park, across from Gimme! Coffee on North Cayuga Street. People planning to attend can RSVP here.

“Ithacans have fought hard to ensure that equity is at the center of the IGND, and the Climate, Jobs, and Justice Package would extend that commitment to the state level,” said Siobhan Hull, coordinator of Sunrise Ithaca and member of Climate Justice Cornell. “As vulnerable New Yorkers continue to be hardest hit by pollution, economic recessions and the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to invest in our frontline communities and secure a just transition for all.”

The Climate, Jobs, and Justice Package has three main components: 1) fully fund the CLCPA so that it can achieve its objectives; 2) build renewable energy for all and create green union jobs; and 3) hold polluters accountable and ensure everyone pays their fair share in taxes. The details for each of these include:

1. Fully fund and implement New York’s Climate Act

Climate and Community Protection Fund creates a pool of money to ensure sufficient investment to fund the CLCPA. The act’s core investments would include broad labor, procurement, community benefits and responsible contracting standards.

2. Build renewable energy for all and create good, green union jobs

Build Public Renewables Act would allow the New York Power Authority to build new large-scale renewables more quickly, effectively and democratically than private developers.

Climate Accountability Act provides state agencies with the authority and guidance required to implement the Climate Act and ensure that our energy system is accountable and transparent to the public.

Gas Transition and Affordable Energy Act will give the Public Service Commission the power and direction to align gas utilities with the Climate Act’s emission reduction and climate justice mandates.

Blueprint Bill provides a plan to direct the replacement and redevelopment of New York state’s fossil fuel facilities and sites by 2030.

3. Make polluters and the wealthiest New Yorkers pay what they owe

Climate Change Superfund Act makes the state’s worst polluters, major oil companies, pay for the harm they’ve caused.

Fossil Fuel Subsidy Elimination Act will end the most egregious state subsidies of $330 million each year to the fossil fuel industry, a major contributor to the climate crisis.

Invest in Our New York’s Plan to Fund Our Future is a revenue and spending package from the Invest in Our New York (IONY) coalition that will ensure the state eliminates wasteful handouts to businesses and the wealthiest New Yorkers pay their fair share to fund our climate law.

Make no mistake, securing the passage of the Climate, Jobs, and Justice Package will not be easy. Implementing these kinds of transformative policies will always generate opposition. In this case, the fossil fuel industry has mounted an aggressive lobbying campaign to undermine the state’s climate targets.

A new report just released by the nonprofit Public Accountability Initiative describes in devastating detail the attempts of various players in the fossil fuel industry to obstruct climate action in the state. According to the report, millions of dollars have been spent by the industry and its supporters “to delay, water down and otherwise frustrate the implementation of the CLCPA and other key climate legislation.”

The study points to the presence of fossil fuel executives on the Climate Action Council, the body appointed to create a roadmap for meeting the climate and energy goals of the CLCPA, and questions their support of the state’s clean energy initiatives.

“Legislators, communities and other stakeholders invested in a cleaner, greener, decarbonized future for New York must stay vigilant around efforts by the fossil fuel industry to muzzle and erode the state’s most far-reaching climate legislation ever passed,” cautions the report.

So, keeping these words in mind, be sure to attend the unveiling of NY Renews’ Climate, Jobs, and Justice Package at Thompson Park on Nov. 18, and demonstrate your support for real climate action that will bring about a greener, healthier and more equitable future for all New Yorkers.

The Acceleration in Global Renewables

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The latest report from the climate front is a doozy. According to a new study, the global warming that has already occurred will cause a sea level rise of more than 10 inches from the melting of the Greenland ice sheet alone. That much is baked in. How much worse can it get? “With continued carbon emissions, the melting of other ice caps and thermal expansion of the ocean,” the Guardian warns, “a multi-metre sea-level rise appears likely.”

Obviously, this is very bad news for the nearly 600 million people who live in coastal zones worldwide.

Aftermath of flooding in Pakistan.

It comes on top of record-breaking heat waves in China and South Asia, the worst drought in Europe in 500 years, the continuing megadrought in the U.S. Southwest, massive wildfires in Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, France, and Germany, and catastrophic floods in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Evidence of a climate emergency could hardly be clearer. In Bill McKibben’s words, “We live on a different planet than we used to.”

Fortunately, there are solutions at hand that don’t require bleeding edge technologies. They do, however, require political will to implement, and that’s why the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is so important.

Clearly, the IRA doesn’t approach the scale demanded by the current climate crisis, but it sets the ball in motion, creating a dynamic that could very well generate its own momentum. Finally, after years of inaction, the federal government has exerted powerful leadership to deal with a rapidly warming world.

Signed into law by President Biden earlier this month, the IRA commits $369 billion to carrying out climate and clean energy measures, by far the largest such investment in U.S. history. Adopting a carrots rather than stick approach, it represents a major change in policy direction. Instead of calling for carbon taxes to discourage fossil fuel use, it focuses on incentives to spur investments in renewables and energy efficiency, mainly in form of tax credits.

The IRA is far more modest than the Build Back Better Act and it includes significant concessions to the fossil fuel industry. Even so it’s projected to cut U.S. emissions by 40% by 2030, compared with 2005 levels. Economists, furthermore, estimate that Americans will save as much as $200 billion over the next decade on electricity bills thanks to the new law, challenging the belief that the energy transition will mean higher prices.

Perhaps the best thing about the IRA is the fact that it comes right as the adoption of renewables has picked up dramatic speed. As David Wallace-Wells observes, the public investment will benefit from “much broader tailwinds” than just a few years ago. For example, the amount of electricity generated by renewable resources in the U.S., which was only 8.6% in April 2001, hit a record 28% this April.

In fact, wind and solar installations have made up an impressive majority of new power plants added to the national grid in recent years. In the first six months of 2022 wind and solar accounted for two-thirds of the new U.S. electrical generating capacity. The country’s investments in clean energy have grown from $10 billion in 2004 to $105 billion in 2021.

Globally, the picture is similarly positive; renewable energy production has increased 400% in the past decade. The renewable investment of $226 billion worldwide in the first half of 2022 set a new record, jumping 11% in the first six months relative to same period in 2021. Investment in solar was up 33% and 16% in wind. Renewables are now the cheapest form of power in many countries, including the U.S.

So, yes, the sea level is rising and that’s scary. But the shift to renewables is accelerating and that’s exciting. There’s little question that climate chaos is causing great damage and will continue to do so. If we work hard to push the energy transition forward, however, we can limit this destruction and bequeath a better world to the generations that follow us.

Tompkins County Works to Reduce GHG Emissions

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This piece originally appeared in the August 10th issue of the Tompkins Weekly.

As it has since 2009, the Tompkins County Climate Protection Initiative (TCCPI) recently issued its annual report on member activities in 2021 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and accelerate the transition to clean energy.

A coalition of activists leaders and concerned citizens, TCCPI meets monthly to discuss and share information about what we can do locally to shrink our carbon footprint and help the community meet its ambitious climate goals. The new report includes 36 submissions and covers a wide range of inspiring activities that reflect the commitment and engagement of hundreds of individuals working together locally to better our world.

A view of Cayuga Lake. Environmental efforts across Tompkins County help protect this crucial natural resource.

Below is just a small sample of what the report covers. The full, text-only version can be found at tccpi.org/tccpi-2021.html. If you’d like a free, PDF copy of the illustrated 37-page report, contact us at info@tccpi.org.

The biggest news of 2021 was the Ithaca Common Council’s vote in November to begin decarbonization of the city’s 6,000 buildings (tinyurl.com/26y8exs5). Under the leadership of Luis Aguirre-Torres, who came on board in March as the city’s sustainability director, the plan secured $105 million in private investment to carry out energy efficiency retrofits and install heat pumps.

The initiative followed the adoption in June of the Ithaca Energy Code Supplement requiring net-zero construction for new buildings by 2026. The city also launched a process to implement all-renewable community choice aggregation for residents and proposed a 25-acre solar array in the southwest area of the city.

Other municipalities took important steps to facilitate the transition to clean energy. Tompkins County developed a Green Facilities Plan (tinyurl.com/ycglol6a) to improve energy efficiency of its buildings, and the Legislature approved a $7 million bond to kick off phase one of the plan.

The Town of Ithaca also adopted the Energy Code Supplement and joined with the city to develop a community choice aggregation program. The towns of Ithaca, Caroline and Dryden conducted clean heating programs in partnership with HeatSmart Tompkins, resulting in grant funding and numerous heat pump installations.

Dryden adopted the NYS Stretch Code to require higher energy efficiency in new construction and, along with the town of Ithaca, continued to install LED streetlights.

The highlight of 2021 in the transportation sector took place on Earth Day when Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) unveiled its first-ever fleet of electric buses. The Center for Community Transportation (CCT), Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County (CCE-Tompkins) and Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA) carried out key efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

CCT’s Ithaca Carshare, Bike Walk Tompkins (and its signature program Streets Alive! Ithaca) and Backup Ride Home all continued to play vital roles in promoting alternatives to car ownership and single-occupancy commuting, as did CCE-Tompkins’ Way2Go and DIA’s GO Ithaca.

CTC and CCE-Tompkins also collaborated on identifying and addressing barriers to the wider adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) among underserved populations. In addition, TCAT, Ithaca Carshare and CCE-Tompkins partnered on several events offering opportunities to see EVs and speak with EV owners. Both Tompkins County and Ithaca Carshare added several EVs to their fleets, and the city explored ways to electrify its fleet and deploy a shared electric bike program.

Recycling, reuse and waste management also saw significant new developments in 2021. Finger Lakes ReUse made perhaps the biggest splash with its opening of the ReUse MegaCenter at Triphammer Marketplace. The new location, with a half-acre of retail space, is now one of the largest reuse business locations in upstate New York.

In all, Finger Lakes ReUse diverted an estimated 1,023 tons of materials through its three locations, including furniture, building materials, housewares, electronics, books, textiles, appliances and more.

Cornell University has reduced campus waste by one-third in the last five years, and reuse and reclamation doubled in the last year.

Twelve restaurants and eateries on The Commons support Zero Waste Tompkins’ Ithaca Reduces program by asking customers to bring their own containers and cups. Furthermore, downtown Ithaca has about a dozen independent, locally owned stores that specialize in reuse and recycled products.

Education and advocacy were crucial components of the climate protection effort in 2021. Cornell and CCE-Tompkins, in particular, played major parts on the education front. Thanks to the ongoing integration of sustainability into campus learning and research, 100% of Cornell students now graduate with sustainability learning outcomes, beginning with a requirement that all incoming students complete a sustainability assessment and learning module.

Over 40 living laboratory projects take place each year using the campus as an innovation hub for sustainability solutions. Students can major, minor or concentrate in 87 programs focused on sustainability. Nearly all academic departments are currently undertaking sustainability-focused research, including 619 faculty fellows associated with the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability.

These and other achievements earned the university a third consecutive Platinum rating in 2022 from STARS, the international gold standard for assessing campus sustainability work.

At CCE-Tompkins, the Energy and Climate Change team worked with city staff and other key community stakeholders to explore strategies for community education and outreach around the Ithaca Green New Deal (IGND). The city sustainability office and CCE-Tompkins joined with the training program Roots of Success to begin development of a regional workforce training ecosystem.

In addition, CCE-Tompkins staff created resources for CCE educators across the state on large-scale solar development and reducing energy use. Get Your GreenBack, which became part of CCE-Tompkins in late 2021, saw its volunteer Energy Navigator program expand dramatically with a NYSERDA grant to revise its curriculum and take its operation statewide.

The tiny home PowerHouse proved to be a big hit, demonstrating at outreach events and school programs how to reduce energy use and transition to renewable energy. Together with HeatSmart Tompkins and Sustainable Finger Lakes (formerly Sustainable Tompkins), these efforts helped to increase the adoption of home energy retrofits and heat pumps.

PRI/Museum of the Earth, the Sciencenter, New Roots Charter School, the Ithaca 2030 District, TCCPI and the Tompkins County Environmental Management Council carried out other important educational work regarding climate, energy and sustainability in 2021.

Advocacy activities took on an increasing sense of urgency as climate change accelerated in 2021. The local chapters of Citizens Climate Lobby and Climate Reality Project worked to raise awareness about federal legislation such as the carbon dividend bill and the state’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, which in 2019 established aggressive climate targets.

Fossil Free Tompkins (FFT) and HeatSmart Tompkins actively participated in the statewide Renewable Heat Now coalition, which scored important victories in the recent legislative session, including passage of a moratorium on the use of fossil fuel plants for cryptocurrency mining.

FFT and other local environmentalist organizations campaigned to ensure that Greenidge Power Plant did not get its air permit renewed, and these groups also supported the successful purchase by Finger Lakes Land Trust of NYSEG’s Bell Station property. Sunrise Ithaca held events throughout 2021, including a Green Building Policy Town Hall, several climate rallies and a community forum on the implementation of the IGND.

At the heart of all this outstanding work, as always, was the Park Foundation. Without its generous, ongoing financial support and guidance, many if not most of the activities captured in the TCCPI report would not have occurred. The community owes a debt of gratitude to the foundation and its extraordinary record of civic betterment.

 

Growth & Progress in the Ithaca 2030 District

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The Ithaca 2030 District recently released its third annual progress report. As the report shows, the Ithaca 2030 District in 2021 once again surpassed the 2020 reduction target for energy and, for the first time, went beyond the 2030 target for water.

Buildings make up 73% of the greenhouse gas emissions in the City of Ithaca, with commercial buildings accounting for 48 percent, so achieving the city-wide goal of carbon neutrality by 2030 depends in great measure on dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of our buildings.

The flagship program of TCCPI, the Ithaca 2030 District is a voluntary effort by property owners and tenants to improve the energy and water performance of their buildings as well as to bring about cuts in commuter transportation emissions.

District property members, by committing to the goals of the 2030 District, are not only having a positive effect on the environment; they are also saving money on utility costs, improving the well-being of those who live and work in their buildings, and stimulating the local economy.

The Ithaca 2030 District has grown considerably in the last 16 months, due in part to the reopening of downtown as well as the excitement generated by the City’s building decarbonization campaign.

Currently, there are 30 commercial property owners, 40 buildings, and 522,375 square feet of committed space, compared to 25 property members, 29 buildings, and 375,371 square feet at the end of 2020. This annual report focused on the 27 property members, 33 buildings, and 417,089 square feet that belonged to the District for most of 2021.

The District reduced its energy consumption by 21.8% from the baseline. In addition, it realized savings of 51.4% in water use. The one area where the District lost ground was commuter transportation emissions. The increase in driving to work in 2021 as downtown reopened, along with a decline in the number of remote workers, resulted in a rise in transportation emissions to a level well above the 2020 target, even exceeding the level of emissions generated before the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Clearly, commuter emissions will be a major area of concern as the City of Ithaca works to achieve its goal of community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030.

Besides the annual district-level report, each of the property members is provided access to a confidential interactive, online dashboard that measures the energy and water performance of their individual buildings. These dashboards are regularly updated so that building owners and tenants can monitor their progress towards the individual 2025 and 2030 energy and water targets.

Check out the full 2021 report for details about the growth and progress of the Ithaca 2030 District.

Building Electrification in the Empire State

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New York burns more fossil fuels in its residential and commercial buildings than any other state in the country, a fact that underscores the importance of dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of our built environment to avert runaway climate change. As the New York legislature entered the final days of the 2022 session last week, however, prospects for passage of the All-Electric Building Act (AEBA) appeared dim.

Commercial building heat pumpsThe AEBA would have required all new buildings starting in 2024 to be constructed using only electric appliances for heating, cooking, hot water, and drying clothes; in 2027, the standard would have applied to taller buildings as well.

Although other significant environmental and climate legislation did make it through, including the two-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining produced by fossil fuel power plants, it was lights out for the AEBA when the session ended. The bill had strong support in both houses, but the leadership blocked it from going to the floor for a vote. It was a bitter disappointment for climate activists, especially in light of the Democratic majority in the state legislature.

Similar proposals have fared better elsewhere in the U.S. Washington became the first state in the country in April to effectively ban the use of natural gas in most newly constructed buildings, mandating the installation of all-electric heating and hot water systems. California adopted a new building code in August 2021 that established a strong preference for electric heating in new construction, although it did not impose an explicit ban on natural gas.

Closer to home, the Ithaca Common Council in May 2021 voted unanimously in support of an energy code supplement that required all new construction beginning in 2026 to be net-zero buildings that do not use fossil fuels except for cooking. New York City passed a law in December 2021 prohibiting the use of natural gas and oil burning systems in new construction starting in 2024, when developers would have to design buildings with all-electric heating, hot water, and cooking appliances.

The AEBA would have implemented a key recommendation of the Climate Action Council, which has been charged with developing a plan to achieve the goals established under the state’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Protection Act (CLCPA). The Draft Scoping Plan, released at the end of December 2021 for public comment, calls for the adoption of all-electric state codes that prohibit the use of fossil fuel for heating, cooling, hot water, cooking, and appliances by 2024 for new construction of single-family and low-rise residential buildings and by 2027 for multifamily buildings over four stories and commercial buildings (see pp. 125-28).Gov. Kathy Hochul’s State of the State address in January seemed to signal a green light for building decarbonization, and she included support for a ban on natural gas in new construction after 2027 in her executive budget, a move backed by the State Senate. The General Assembly, however, left it out of its one-house budget.

The failure of the state legislature to take action on the AEBA makes it very difficult for New York to meet the legal climate targets stipulated in the CLCPA. All the more reason, then, that concerned citizens should make their voices heard in support of the Draft Scoping Plan recommendations. Fortunately, there is still time to do so now that the public comment period has been extended to July 1. Comments may be submitted via the online public comment form, via email at scopingplan@nyserda.ny.gov, and via U.S. mail to Attention: Draft Scoping Plan Comments, NYSERDA, 17 Columbia Circle, Albany, NY 12203-6399. The Climate Action Council will issue a final draft of the climate plan by the end of the year.

Crunch Time on Climate Action in Albany

/ Peter Bardaglio / Leave a comment

The future of climate action in New York State is at a critical inflection point. The new budget has been approved and the remaining weeks of the legislative session are now focused on policy proposals. At the same time, the draft Scoping Plan issued by the Climate Action Council at the end of 2021 has been undergoing scrutiny at public hearings around the state and only a handful more of these hearings remain.

When the New York Legislature convened in January, environmentalists and climate activists were hopeful that dramatic headway could be made on such issues as reducing the consumption of natural gas, building electrification, cryptocurrency mining, fossil fuel divestment, and investments in renewable energy development.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the oil and gas industry and its supporters have stepped up their opposition to these measures in recent weeks, spending millions of dollars on ad campaigns and lobbying, money that could be put towards a clean energy future.

The pushback has revealed the obstacles to phasing out fossil fuels even in a relatively progressive state such as New York. A recent Washington Post article highlighted the challenges faced by those who take the ambitious goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act seriously, focusing on the fight over banning natural gas use in new construction.

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) included a ban on gas use in new construction by 2027 in her executive budget for the next fiscal year. But, by the time the negotiations came to a close, the proposal was absent from the final budget deal. The ostensible reason for its exclusion, according to a spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, was that policy measures don’t belong in the proposed budget.

Climate advocates are now pressing state lawmakers to pass the measure as a stand-alone bill before the legislative session ends on June 2. The Renewable Heat Now coalition, in particular, is pushing for passage of the All-Electric Building Act as part of a package of proposals to reduce demand for fossil fuels and compel utilities to plan for a transition to renewable heat.

An organization called New Yorkers for Affordable Energy, essentially a front group for fossil fuel and utility companies and corporate lobbying interests, is mounting a well-oiled campaign to defeat the measure. It contends that banning gas use in new buildings would harm consumers. Among those behind the organization are National Grid, the American Petroleum Institute, the pipeline company Enbridge, and the Business Council of New York State. A recent investigative report concludes that “New Yorkers for Affordable Energy smacks as a classic industry-funded astroturf effort.”

The lines couldn’t be drawn more distinctly: on one side, the backward-looking oil and gas companies, utilities, and other corporate defenders of the fossil-fuel status quo, and on the other, citizens, activists, and other members of the public who want a decent, bright future where runaway climate change has been averted, mass species extinction avoided, and clean air and water acknowledged as fundamental human rights.

The next few weeks will tell us unambiguously where Gov. Hochul and the state legislature stand. In the meantime, we must make our voices heard in Albany as loudly and clearly as possible.

Cryptocurrency Mining and Climate Change

/ Peter Bardaglio / Leave a comment

When political leaders demonstrate the courage of their convictions, it’s immediately evident. Perhaps it’s because the authenticity shines through the usual political fog so brightly. All pretense drops, the language becomes direct and straightforward, and the clear meaning of their words rings out.

The most striking example recently of such leadership, one that has been both inspiring and breathtaking, is that of President Volodymyr Zelensky. He has not shied away from acknowledging the immense military odds stacked against Ukraine or downplayed the difficulty ordinary Ukrainians face. He has invoked a deep sense of common purpose and brought his country together.

Kathy Hochul sworn in as the 57th governor of New York. Photo by NY Senate licensed under CC BY 2.0.

In a different way and at a very different level, NY Gov. Kathy Hochul has a similar opportunity to demonstrate the courage of her convictions. The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), signed into law in 2019, laid out aggressive benchmarks for New York to reduce its carbon emissions. Gov. Hochul has emphatically expressed her support for the CLCPA, proclaiming in her recent State of the State address that climate change is “a threat to our way of life, here and now.” She boldly called for a ban on the use of natural gas in new construction after 2027, the rapid development of offshore wind, and the phasing out of peaker plants—only used when excess energy is needed by the grid—as well as older fossil-fuel power plants.

Another closely related issue offers Hochul a similar chance to display bold leadership: imposing a statewide moratorium on proof-of-work bitcoin mining, a practice that poses a profound threat to the climate. Assemblymember Anna Kelles has introduced a bill that would place a three-year moratorium on proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining. The bill is currently making its way through the legislative process and has gained the support of 41 co-sponsors and 15 key committee chairs in the Assembly.

So far the governor has said very little about bitcoin mining, its environmental impact, or whether she supports a moratorium. It’s time she stepped forward.

Why is this action so critical?

Proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining consumes a tremendous amount of energy to operate the multiple, high-powered computers that validate the exchange of bitcoins as well as the cooling technology needed to keep the machines from overheating. In fact, a Cambridge University study concluded that bitcoin mining uses more electricity annually than the entire country of Argentina.

What is especially galling is that proof-of-work is only one way to mine cryptocurrency. “Proof-of-stake, another popular method, uses far less energy,” points out Yvonne Taylor, co-founder and vice president of Seneca Lake Guardian. But, she notes, proof-of-work’s energy use in the U.S. has grown 320% in just the past five years. New York, moreover, hosts nearly 20% of that.

Thanks to the work of Taylor and other environmentalists, attention in New York has focused on Greenidge Generation, a recently revived operation located on Seneca Lake. Formerly a coal-fired power station, it turned to natural gas when it reopened its doors. Originally intended to be a peaker plant, no one knew it would become a private bitcoin mining operation that ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Greenidge’s Title V air permit is currently up for renewal, as discussed in our last issue. The decision on the renewal was due Jan. 31 but has been postponed to March 31 so that the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) could “complete its ongoing review” of about 4,000 public comments on the case. As Peter Mantius reports, however, the delay provides Greenidge with the ability to expand its operations.

Under the CLCPA, the state is required to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030. The importance of doing so was underscored by today’s release of a report from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warning that the pace of global warming threatens to overcome our ability to adapt to it. Greenidge is just one of many fossil-fuel power plants retired in upstate New York that could potentially be reopened for proof-of-work cryptocurrency mining; the possibility of Cayuga Power Plant going down this road punctuates the point.

If the bitcoin mining industry is allowed to continue growing without any oversight or regulation, the ability to achieve the CLCPA goals will be put in serious jeopardy. For the governor to be true to her word that climate change is a threat to our way of life, it’s clear what her next move must be: declare a moratorium on bitcoin mining.