Ithaca, New York becomes first U.S. city to begin 100% decarbonization of buildings, an urban climate change milestone
KEY POINTS
- Ithaca, New York, begins to fully decarbonize all of its buildings as the first phase of a novel 100% carbon-free city climate policy.
- Cities are seen as key leaders in U.S. climate change efforts and the massive stock of legacy buildings and residences with low energy efficiency drives a huge portion of carbon emissions.
- Ithaca’s buildings equate to 40% of its carbon footprint and it is working with building energy specialist BlocPower on the project.
- To secure political approval and community buy-in, Ithaca lined up $100 million in private financing from Alturus for the effort and will seek up to $250 million more for additional climate change efforts including transitioning the city to electric vehicles.
People walk past colorful stores in a pedestrian area of downtown Ithaca, New York on a sunny day.
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