Belmont Carbon Emissions Down 14%

 Climate Change, Environment, July/August 2024, Solar Power  Comments Off on Belmont Carbon Emissions Down 14%
Jun 252024
 
Belmont Carbon Emissions Down 14%

By Roger Wrubel, Brian Kopperl, and James Booth According to the Belmont Energy Committee’s most recent inventory, the town’s carbon emissions dropped from 177,000 tons to 150,000 tons per year between 2014 and 2021. The drop, which measures emissions from gasoline, natural gas, fuel oil, and electricity, results from residents shifting away from home heating oil to other energy sources, driving more fuel-efficient vehicles, and drawing their electricity from a cleaner New England grid. Except for the shift away from fuel oil, none of these reductions are happening at a pace sufficient to reach zero emissions by 2050. The committee [READ MORE]

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Why Belmont Needs the Specialized Energy Code

 Climate Change, Newsletter  Comments Off on Why Belmont Needs the Specialized Energy Code
Aug 312023
 
Why Belmont Needs the Specialized Energy Code

By Roger Wrubel Massachusetts adopted An Act Creating A Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy (Roadmap) in 2021. The act directed the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to update the existing energy building codes and to create a new Opt-In Specialized Energy Code to encourage the construction of all-electric buildings.  The state needs to update energy building codes because the policy requires reduced greenhouse gas emissions. The policy set greenhouse gas emissions limits of at least 50% below the 1990 baseline by 2030, at least 75% below the baseline by 2040, and required net-zero emissions by 2050. By 2050, emissions [READ MORE]

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