Democratic Presidential Candidate, Former Three-Term New York City Mayor, Mike Bloomberg, has Unveiled a Piece of his Climate Plan that would Boost the Energy Efficiency of Buildings, which are responsible for 12% of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

Bloomberg has Vowed to Cut the Country’s Emissions by 50% by 2030. He said he would Slash the use of Fossil Fuels, including Natural Gas, for Cooking, Heat, and Hot Water by promoting Pollution-Free Appliances and Zero-Carbon Furnaces through a Combination of Federal Incentives and Standards, including a “Bucks for Boilers” program.

By 2025, All New Buildings would be Required to Meet Zero-Carbon Emissions on Site, so that they would be Powered by Electric Utilities using Increasing amounts of Renewable Sources.

“Gas isn’t as clean as we thought. It’s a much bigger problem than we anticipated. Gas is now a bigger source of climate pollution than coal, and emissions from gas are growing. For those reasons, my clean energy plan calls for replacing all U.S. coal plants, replacing existing gas plants, and stopping the construction of new gas plants as well. We don’t exactly ban the use of gas, but we are looking to set building codes, help them get adopted locally, and offer incentives for pollution-free appliances to get gas out of as many homes and buildings as we can.” Bloomberg said in an email.

Buildings are a Major source of Pollution, said Antha N. Williams, the Bloomberg Campaign’s Senior Adviser on Climate, Energy, and Environment. She said that if All the Buildings in the U.S. were a Country, it would be the Third Largest Emitter of Greenhouse Gases after China and the U.S..

The Energy Information Administration says that 8.5 Trillion cubic feet, or 29%, of All Natural Gas used in the U.S. is Burned at Residential and Commercial Buildings.

The Latest Piece of the Bloomberg Climate Policy comes as Climate Change has become a Controversial Portion of the Presidential Campaign.

Bloomberg said he could Not Estimate the Cost of his Proposal until the Rest of his Plan was Complete.

Williams pointed to Initiatives Bloomberg undertook as Mayor, including an Effort to Train Building Superintendents so they could Install and Repair “Green” Equipment. Bloomberg has also given Generously to the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign, which is Devoted to Shutting down U.S. Coal-Fired Power Plants. Last week, Beyond Coal announced Imminent Closure of the 300th and 301st Coal-Fired Power Plants since the Campaign began in 2010.

She said Bloomberg did Not Favor a Fracking Ban or the Nationalization of Utilities, though the Insistence on Zero-Carbon New Buildings would apply Pressure to Natural Gas Drillers. Nor does he Favor any “whiz-bang new technology,” Williams added.

Instead, Bloomberg’s Plan provides Block Grants to States to Support Clean Energy, Tax Credits for New Appliances, Low-Interest Loans, and Federal Programs to Help People with their Home Mortgages. It would also Set Efficiency Standards for Utilities and Provide Weatherization Assistance for Lower-Income Earners.

The Plan would also make Use of Federal Buildings. “The federal government is the landlord of nearly 377 million square feet of commercial real estate,” the Plan says. Bloomberg would use Federal Buildings as Models.

As President, Bloomberg would be a Sharp Change from President Trump, who Rejects the Notion that Climate Change is Linked to Human Activity and has Declared that the U.S. is Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord forged in 2015. Trump has also Rolled Back a Wide Variety of Regulations that would have Raised Energy-Efficiency Standards for Many items, including Motor Vehicles and Appliances.

The Proposals face Potential Conflicts with Local and State Governments, which generally Set Building Codes. But Bruce Nilles, a Former Sierra Club Lawyer now at the Rocky Mountain Institute working on Energy use in Buildings, said that Gas-Fired Furnaces, Boilers, and Appliances Generate Traditional Pollutants as well as Greenhouse Gases, both of which can be Regulated by the Energy Department’s Appliance Standards and the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act.

Nilles, who also Works Part-Time for the Bloomberg Campaign, said that as Mayor of New York, Bloomberg Cut Local Emissions by 5%. Recently, about Two Dozen Cities, including San Jose, Calif., have begun to Regulate Natural Gas Emissions at the Local Level.

He said that Bloomberg became Involved in the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign in 2011 when it was still a Nascent Campaign. “Bloomberg changed the entire conversation,” Nilles said.










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