Climate & Resilience: Page 20


  • Hydrogen fuel cell buses at a bus stop.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Fuel cell electric buses up 75% in transit fleets last year

    Battery-electric bus fleets also grew last year, but at a slower rate than in 2022, according to Calstart’s annual report on zero-emission buses.

    By March 4, 2024
  • A council chamber where a man and woman in suit sit on dais while four people, one wearing a jacket labeled DSNY, sit at a table facing the dais.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Jacob Wallace/Smart Cities Dive
    Image attribution tooltip

    ‘We are behind’: On composting, NYC’s new sanitation chair pushes for funding, transparency

    Budget cuts to New York City’s community composting program are “unacceptable,” Council Member Shaun Abreu said at the first Sanitation and Solid Waste Management Committee hearing of the year.

    By Jacob Wallace • March 1, 2024
  • Trendline

    Energy Codes and Building Performance Standards

    Cities are using these levers to meet climate goals and address everything from data centers to building decarbonization.

    By Smart Cities Dive staff
  • An engineer checking a maintenance pipe system for ventilation and air conditioning on the rooftop of a building.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    NYC defines ‘green economy,’ projects job growth in new action plan

    The 124-page plan released yesterday is the city’s latest signal that it is hungry to be at the center of climate change-related business and workforce growth.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Feb. 29, 2024
  • Pylon with power lines against reddish sky at sunset, rural North Carolina, USA.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Deep Dive

    Congressional action on energy permitting remains stuck, but states, developers are finding solutions

    States are resolving local objections to projects through community engagement while transmission developers are making innovative use of existing rights-of-way to bypass permitting logjams.

    By Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 29, 2024
  • A maintenance boat works next to the turbines of the new Burbo Bank off shore wind farm in the mouth of the River Mersey on May 12, 2008 in Liverpool, England.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Christopher Furlong via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Ocean City, Maryland, ‘cannot be bought’: Mayor rejects offshore wind developer’s benefits package

    Mayor Rick Meehan said US Wind offered community benefit packages in exchange for local officials refraining from negative comments about the planned renewable energy project.

    By Diana DiGangi • Feb. 28, 2024
  • In this aerial view solar panels stand at the Klettwitz Nord solar energy park on May 04, 2023 near Klettwitz, Germany.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Sean Gallup via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Local, tribal clean energy projects can tap into $18M from DOE

    Microgrids and downtown revitalization efforts that create energy-efficient buildings are potential projects the Department of Energy suggested could be eligible.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Feb. 28, 2024
  • Electric vehicles at an EV charging station.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Utility Con Edison to reward NYC EV charging operators for reducing demand at peak times

    Rideshare and fast-charging provider Revel will be the first participant in Consolidated Edison’s new EV charging program. Officials say program incentives should help to lower station operating costs.

    By Robert Walton • Feb. 27, 2024
  • Aerial shot of flooded neighborhood
    Image attribution tooltip
    Mario Tama/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Climate risk planning portal from Argonne National Lab gets new features

    The portal uses one of the world's largest supercomputers to model climate change hazards. Now, communities can use it to predict impacts on vulnerable populations and infrastructure.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Feb. 26, 2024
  • A modern heat pump in a cold, snowy setting
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Heat pumps would cut energy bills for majority of US homes: NREL research

    Even so, “we need work to bring down the cost of installing heat pumps,” said a senior research engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Feb. 23, 2024
  • A Rivian R1T nears undergoes final assembly at the automaker's plant in Normal, Illinois.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Rivian Automotive
    Image attribution tooltip

    EV startup Rivian to lay off 10% of salaried workforce

    Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said that Rivian still firmly believes in the full electrification of the automotive industry.

    By Michael Brady • Feb. 23, 2024
  • Image attribution tooltip
    Win McNamee via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    DC updates strategy to reach ‘zero waste’ by 2040, including many policy proposals

    The plan calls for actions such as implementing commercial waste zones and banning certain items from disposal.

    By Megan Quinn • Feb. 23, 2024
  • Hazy orange sky over cityscape
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    EPA rolls out $83M for air quality monitoring after tightening soot standard

    The Biden administration is hoping to clean up the nation’s air, but about two-thirds of U.S. counties lack air monitors, according to Earthjustice.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Feb. 22, 2024
  • A structure is set on Xcel Energy's Rush Creek transmission project in Colorado.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Xcel Energy
    Image attribution tooltip

    Why Colorado cities don’t want to pay for any of a $2B electric transmission project

    The Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska and three of its municipal utility members in Colorado contend they won't benefit from the project, which Xcel Energy’s Public Service Co. of Colorado is building.

    By Ethan Howland • Feb. 22, 2024
  • A facade of a sustainable glass office building with a tree for reducing carbon dioxide.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Building decarbonization guide to be developed by ASHRAE, Noresco

    The guide will provide case studies, guidance and key takeaways to help building owners and operators establish robust plans and feel confident in their decarbonization endeavors, says the chair of the guide’s working group. 

    By Nish Amarnath • Feb. 21, 2024
  • A sign with a design and the letters "bp" against a blue sky
    Image attribution tooltip
    Tim Boyle/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Chicago sues oil, gas companies to make them pay for ‘climate deception’

    The nation's third-largest city joins dozens of other municipalities and states that have filed similar lawsuits.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Feb. 21, 2024
  • Construction workers build the “Signature Bridge,” replacing and improving a busy highway intersection at I-95 and I-395 on March 17, 2021 in Miami, Florida.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Infrastructure law may increase transportation’s GHG emissions as states spend more on highways

    The White House is also expected to delay the transition to electric vehicles in a revision to the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed emissions regulation.

    By Feb. 20, 2024
  • Gondolas on cables over a city street with car and pedestrian traffic
    Image attribution tooltip
    Permission granted by Swyft Cities
    Image attribution tooltip

    For US aerial trams, the sky’s the limit

    Aerial cable cars remain rare for U.S. urban transportation, but cities and private groups see them as a novel solution to traffic woes.

    By Adina Solomon • Feb. 9, 2024
  • A person speaking into a microphone in front of a brick wall
    Image attribution tooltip
    Retrieved from Screenshot: Boston City TV/YouTube on February 09, 2024
    Image attribution tooltip

    Boston’s first networked geothermal project will electrify 7 public housing buildings

    Geothermal systems are a promising approach to transitioning communities off fossil fuels for heating and cooling, experts say.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Feb. 9, 2024
  • A blue electric New York City transit bus at an overhead charging station.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Courtesy of Marc A. Hermann / MTA
    Image attribution tooltip

    FTA to help electric transit bus buyers amid tough times for manufacturers

    The White House convened a roundtable Wednesday on clean bus manufacturing as transit agencies working to green their fleets struggle with price increases and long delivery times.

    By Feb. 8, 2024
  • An HVAC worker is seen to perform heat pump maintenance
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    9 states pledge to accelerate zero-emission heat pump sales

    The pledge sends a clear market signal, said the senior policy advisor for an association of Northeastern state air quality agencies.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Feb. 7, 2024
  • Aerial shot of city buildings on a sunny day
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Neighborhood-scale building decarbonization: 2 approaches

    Relying on the replacement of one appliance at a time isn’t enough to meet federal and state climate goals, said the Building Decarbonization Coalition’s executive director. 

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Feb. 6, 2024
  • A detailed landscape design plan showing topographic contour lines, orange building illustrations, green trees, and directional arrows. The layout includes winding paths and clustered vegetation. A triangular scale ruler lies on the left, and three colored pencils, colored blue, green, and yellow, rest on the lower right corner of the page.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    Surveys can help cities and counties determine sustainability and other priorities among citizens

    Editor's note: This article was originally published in American City & County, which has merged with Smart Cities Dive to bring you expanded coverage of city innovation and local government. For the latest in smart city news, explore Smart Cities Dive or sign up for our newsletter.A broad sl...

    By Michael Keating • Feb. 6, 2024
  • An industrial chimney releasing fumes, steam and polluting gases.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    ASHRAE, ICC unveil draft standard for GHG emission assessment in buildings

    The proposed Standard 240P intends to provide a common platform to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions of buildings, the organizations say. 

    By Nish Amarnath • Feb. 5, 2024
  • An aerial view of a hillside landslide brought on by heavy rains, which caused four ocean view apartment buildings to be evacuated and shuttered due to unstable conditions, on March 16, 2023 in San C
    Image attribution tooltip
    Mario Tama via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip

    California storms sever Amtrak, commuter rail line once again

    Coastal erosion continues to threaten the Los Angeles-San Diego route. Authorities can’t say when it will reopen for passenger service.

    By Feb. 5, 2024
  • People in a park on a sunny day. Cyclists and pedestrians walk on a path next to a grassy area.
    Image attribution tooltip
    Justin Heiman/Getty Images via Getty Images
    Image attribution tooltip
    Q&A

    Parks need money. These researchers have some ideas about where to get it.

    Selling fallen trees, turning pool houses into year-round spas, and asking hotel guests to donate are among the ideas outlined in a new report by the Center for an Urban Future. 

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Feb. 2, 2024