The buildings sector poses a significant climate challenge for local governments across the country. Energy use in buildings contributes one third of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States and represents as much as seventy percent of total GHG emissions in some cities. Building Performance Standards (BPS) are a tool that local governments have been deploying to reduce GHG emissions and promote energy efficiency in buildings. Some local BPS programs require buildings to reduce their energy intensity, while others mandate that buildings lower GHG emissions or intensity. BPS laws are some of the most innovative measures that local governments have taken to mitigate their communities’ contributions to global climate change.
In a new report, New York University’s Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law and Marron Institute of Urban Management provide a retrospective analysis of the implementation of local BPS laws using qualitative and quantitative methods. The report is the most comprehensive analysis of BPS implementation to date.
The report reveals a complex story of challenge and innovation, highlighting the ways that local governments have worked closely with building owners and residents to overcome the difficulties of developing these data-intensive regulatory programs.
PANELISTS:
- Constantine Kontokosta, Professor of Urban Science and Planning
and Director, Civic Analytics Program, NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management
and Director, Urban Intelligence Lab, NYU Center for Urban Science & Progress - Claudia Diezmartínez, Policy and Equity Advisor, City of Boston Environment Department
- Sharon Jaye, Building Performance Policy Manager, Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency, City and County of Denver, CO
- Sadie McKeown, President, Community Preservation Corporation
MODERATORS: Christine Billy and Nathaniel Mattison, Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law, NYU School of Law
