The Need
Energy demand and carbon emissions are disproportionately higher in cities, and urban and suburban populations are growing. Given that urbanization is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, the U.S. should create and fund a pilot project that will identify and demonstrate energy-saving best practices used in urban areas, so that they can be replicated for wide effect. The pilot should be conducted in cities in multiple regions to account for differences in regional climates.
In the U.K., a utility and a think tank ran a pilot in 8 cities. They found that with the right practices and technologies households could cut their CO2 emissions by 20% and their energy usage by 30%. Some managed to cut their natural gas consumption by 50%. It was estimated if the program was replicated nationally in the U.K. — which has an urban population one-fifth the size of the U.S.'s — it could save over $8 billion.
Solution
Congress should create and fund an Urban Energy Efficiency Program, for several cities of varying sized and in different climatic regions.
