Green New Deal

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Ithaca is leading the world 

On June 5th, 2019, the City of Ithaca Common Council unanimously adopted the Ithaca Green New Deal resolution, a government-led commitment to community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030 that focuses on addressing historical inequities, economic inequality, and social justice. Two years after the resolution was signed, Ithaca established itself as a world-leader in climate mitigation planning and continues to pave the path forward as a blueprint for other cities across the U.S. and the globe.

Ithaca Green New Deal Goals 

  •  Community-wide carbon neutrality by 2030 
  • Ensure benefits are shared among all local communities to reduce historical social and economic inequities 
  • Meet the electricity needs of government operations with 100% renewable electricity by 2025 
  • Reduce emissions from the city vehicle fleet by 50% by 2025 

Early Successes 

The city has achieved many important milestones of progress on the IGND since 2019, many of which provide critical waypoints in the development of the Climate Action Plan. Some of these successes include:

  • Adoption of the Ithaca Energy Code Supplement, requiring all new buildings meet net-zero energy requirements by 2026 
  • Launch of the Electrify Ithaca program, which leverages private capital, aggregated building portfolios, and government incentives to reduce building electrification costs
  • Awarded the Climate Justice Champion award by US Green Building Council Upstate 
  • Completed comprehensive greenhouse gas inventories that capture the full lifecycle of methane and emissions from the electric grid 
  • Accepted a definition of “climate justice communities” that contextualizes social and economic vulnerabilities in the local landscape 
  • Passed a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) local law that enables the development of an implementation plan to aggregate energy accounts to leverage affordable access to 24/7 carbon-free energy (24/7 CFE) 
  • Created and deepened partnerships with over 200 local, national, and international organizations with allied missions to share successes, challenges, and resources

Electrify Ithaca is Live! 

To reach the City of Ithaca’s decarbonization goals, we’ll need to collectively electrify all 6,000 buildings within the city’s geographic boundaries. This means replacing all fossil fuel infrastructure with electric equivalents, like heat pumps, induction cooktops, and air sealing to ensure conditioned air is kept indoors. The city has partnered with electrification expert BlocPower to provide competitive financing for residential and commercial electrification – read and learn more about this innovative program at www.electrifyIthaca.org

The IGND Needs Your Help  

The Green New Deal is a whole-of-society mobilization to reach carbon neutrality, stop the climate crisis, and create a more socially and economically just Ithaca. City government needs the local content and context expertise from residents to ensure we’re meeting our goals and moving forward collectively to a brighter future. Interested in lending your expertise? Apply to join the Sustainability & Climate Justice Advisory Commission

Photos: The City of Ithaca has earned Bronze certification through the Climate Smart Communities program
             Electric vehicle chargers are available at no cost in all city parking garages (except Green Street)
             Rooftop solar- or community solar, if your home or business is shaded- can be a great way to save money and reduce green house gas emissions.
             The TREE Common House at EcoVillage Ithaca is close to net-zero carbon, yet construction costs were 5% less than typical similar buildings.
             (Photo Credit: Learn@EcoVillage.Ithaca)