Boston is tied with Seattle for second in a report released Tuesday that sizes up efforts of 100 U.S. cities to make buildings and transportation more energy efficient and to scale up the use of renewable energy.
New York City captured first place in the scorecard released by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, which concludes that 20 cities are on track to meet their own greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, up from nine last year.
The scorecard authors reported that other cities, including many in the South and Midwest, are “years behind” and in some cases haven’t started in on the adoption and implementation of clean energy policies.
“Many cities are really seizing the moment and embracing policies that help them fight climate change, while too many others are, frankly, doing very little,” said David Ribeiro, director of ACEEE’s local policy program and the lead report author. “We want to show all the cities, even the leaders, the further steps they can take to cut carbon emissions most effectively and equitably.”
The report, which assessed policies adopted by May 1, 2020, credited Boston for updating codes to require new buildings to be pre-wired for electric vehicle charging stations.
Boston also tied for first in two areas: local government operations and energy and water utilities, with authors citing the existence of city government policies aimed at increasing energy efficiency in purchasing decisions, construction practices, and asset management.
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