This story was originally published by Canary Media and is reproduced here with permission.
In New York City, the path to decarbonization runs through apartments. The city has more than 2 million rental housing units, most in high-rise or multistory buildings. Buildings at large account for nearly three-quarters of citywide emissions, and many building owners face potential fines if they don’t comply with tough carbon-cutting targets starting next year.
But even with these fines looming, apartment owners face a “classic split incentive” challenge for carbon-cutting and energy-saving investments, said David Klatt, chief operations officer for Logical Buildings. Simply put, building owners bear the costs of efficiency investments, but tenants reap most of the rewards in the form of lower energy bills. “Why should the owner of the building invest in…