A Tale of Two Cities: Decision-Making for Decarbonization
Emmeline Luck
Proposal Status
Ready for Committee Review
Username
Emmeline Luck
Proposer First Name
Emmeline
Proposer Email
eluck@neep.org
Proposer Last Name
Luck
Proposer Phone
(631) 806-0183
Proposer Job Title
Energy & Climate Associate
Proposer Additional Info
Emmeline (Emme) joined NEEP's Buildings and Community Solutions team as the Energy and Climate Associate in February 2021. In her role, Emme provides technical assistance to community stakeholders to help achieve energy savings goals that contribute to a healthy and sustainable environment. Emme supports projects related to residential labeling and benchmarking, equitable community decarbonization pathways, and high performance schools.
Prior to joining NEEP, Emme was the Policy Associate at the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance, a sister REEO organization of NEEP. There she reported on state, local, and utility energy efficiency policy and program developments and best practices. Emme graduated from Emory University in 2018 with degrees in Environmental Sciences and French, in addition to a Sustainability Management certificate through Emory’s Goizueta Business School. She is also a trained Climate Reality Leader and served as the first Director of Communications for the Atlanta Chapter of the Climate Reality Project for two years.
Proposed Session Description
This dialogue between community representatives will tell a tale of two Northeast cities which are both employing building energy labeling policies as a part of their Climate Action Plans (CAPs), but taking different approaches. As existing buildings are a significant contributor to Northeast carbon emissions, policies that increase occupant energy efficiency are key strategies for climate change mitigation. NEEP will interview representatives from Montpelier, Vermont and South Portland, Maine, who will share their perspectives on each city’s approach to achieving building sector decarbonization. A Montpelier elected leader will share their experience passing a home energy labeling ordinance in support of a voluntary statewide program, while a South Portland program coordinator will share lessons learned from implementing a commercial and public building benchmarking policy. Participants will be able to pose questions to the speakers and will leave with recommendations for stakeholder engagement and identifying opportunities and challenges for communities tackling building sector emissions while implementing CAPs. Participants will learn valuable insights into the process of developing building energy policies and programs that best fit the unique needs of a given community and will understand best practices in community-level policy development applicable to a wide range of projects.
Why is this session important?
Existing buildings are a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the Northeast, New York included. Building owners and occupants often lack understanding of their building’s energy needs, and consequently, they are not operated as efficiently as possible. Compounding the issue, utility offered energy efficiency programs are often under-utilized and the real estate market doesn’t properly value or communicate building energy features. The policy approaches discussed in this session aim to address this lack of understanding across stakeholder classes and to create new pathways to decarbonization that engage and empower community members. Building energy labeling and benchmarking policies are gaining momentum across the country due to their proven ability to drive carbon emissions and retrofits.
Comments
ROUND 1 - Yes with edits,
ROUND 1 - Yes with edits, MAYBE as isFor audiences outside of NYC, this could be relevant and helpful. With the history of NYC's benchmarking program, a specific focus on the community reception and use of building labeling programs, since LL33/95 is in its first year of labels, could broaden the appeal.The first sentence says that both cities are using building energy labeling, but I don't see anything about South Portland's labels in the rest of the write up or on their sustainbility website.
ROUND 1 DISCUSSION:
ROUND 1 DISCUSSION: Interesting to get stakeholders from other places, other voices. Can we help them frame it to be useful for NYC? “Stakeholder engagement” is important. Discussion at community level, an area of focus that needs highlighting: community-driven programs from NYSERDA. // Also, will need a new title to avoid confusion - "Two Cities" title used last year.
Diversity and Inclusiveness
Participants will understand the important role of data transparency in creating equitable decarbonization solutions, in addition to the importance of resident engagement and empowerment. The policies discussed in this session are intended to educate occupants in order for them to make more informed financial decisions regarding their building’s energy needs. Participants will learn what policy approaches are effective in lowering bills for low-to moderate-income consumers and how to leverage existing resources for optimal impact. Participants will also hear how communities use data to them future programs, plans, policies, and outreach efforts to better engage hard-to-reach communities.
Learning Objectives
1. Identify potential challenges to and create solutions for achieving a community’s decarbonization goal using building energy labeling and benchmarking or similar policies
2. Meaningfully convene, empower, and/or collaborate with stakeholders from other backgrounds and/or professions whose goals may not align with one’s own
3. Leverage existing resources and engage with community partners to optimize impact
4. Think creatively about potential equitable policy pathways for achieving building sector decarbonization at the community level
Has this session been presented before?
No
NYC 2021 Areas of Focus
Target Audiences Level of Expertise
Level 1 - No prior knowledge needed.
Session Format
Lightning Round (several brief idea pitches followed by discussion)
Recommended Length
60-minute session
Strongest Content Connection - NYC 2021
Comments about your speaker roster
I (Emmeline Luck, NEEP) would lead the interview of Mayor Anne Watson and Sustainability Program Coordinator Lucy Perkins. As proposed, this session would be an all-female panel.
Anything else you'd like to tell us about your session proposal?
There will be ample opportunity for questions from the audience.
Reviewer 1
Cooper, Jeannine
Reviewer 2
Leone, Jen
Proposal #
133
Committee Decision
Being Considered
This could be very
ROUND 1 - YES OR STRONG MAYBE - This could be very interesting - having the Mayor of a small city is exciting. I am not certain how appealing or relevant this would be for a NYC crowd, but for a lot of others living/working outside the city this could have broad appeal - might be interesting to add in a local official from New York State that is subject to the CLCPA (do Maine or Vermont have state-led decarbonization plans)?