May 11, 2023
80% of the buildings that will be
here in 2050 are already here, producing 30% of our greenhouse gas
emissions. Uber sustainable new construction is cool, but the big
carbon reductions will come from electrifying old
buildings.
Chicago plans to retrofit 80,000
homes in the next 7 years. A research collaboration between the
city, community organizations, a utility, and the National
Renewable Energy Laboratory is working out a plan that will
minimize emissions, maximize justice and lower peoples' energy
bills.
The results convinced me that, at
least in Chicago, it's far better to eliminate fossil fuel heating
in lots of homes than to spend the same amount of money completely
decarbonizing a lesser number. We need to do it all eventually, but
this is the way to make big change fast.