Climate Jobs Institute Explores Building Decarbonization Approach to Achieving Scale, Equity, and High-Quality Union Jobs
Buildings are the largest source of climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions in New York and across the country. In New York City, they account for two-thirds of emissions. Continuing a building-by-building decarbonization approach is not only expensive and slow (at this rate, it could take 200 years to fully address building emissions) but also locks out union contractors.
Realizing the need for a new approach, the Climate Jobs Institute produced a primer called “Understanding Thermal Energy Networks: A Building Decarbonization Approach to Achieving Scale, Equity, and High-Quality Union Jobs.”
TENs can heat and cool buildings at a block, neighborhood, and campus scale with non-combusting, non-emitting, zero-carbon thermal sources using an underground network of pipes. TENs not only decarbonize multiple buildings at once but also harness the existing skills of our building trades.
To expand on the opportunities that TENs unlock for our union workforce and environmental justice communities, the Climate Jobs Institute (CJI) hosted a webinar on Wednesday, December 11th, which featured a brief presentation by the primer's lead author, Reyna Cohen, and a discussion moderated by research and policy development associate Pria Mahadevan with the following experts:
- Reyna Cohen, research and policy development associate, Climate Jobs Institute (CJI)
- Lisa Dix, New York director, Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC)
- Sonal Jessel, senior program director, Building Power Resource Center (BRPC)
- Greg Koumoullos, department manager, Con Edison (Utility Thermal Energy Networks)
- Aaron Miller, eastern regional manager, SHARC Energy
- John Murphy, international representative, United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada (UA)