Commercial and residential buildings drive 30% of carbon emissions in the U.S.

Washington (April 30, 2019) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) chaired this week’s meeting of the Senate Climate Change Task Force to discuss climate action in the buildings sector. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), commercial and residential buildings drive the production of nearly 30 percent of U.S. emissions annually.

Briefing the Task Force were Massachusetts-based building energy experts, Barry Coflan, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Schneider Electric’s Digital Energy Division, and Sue Coakley, Executive Director of Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnership. The panel highlighted opportunities to reduce emissions through better building design standards, smarter energy management, and greater deployment of advanced electrical heating technologies.

“When we look to the examples of state, local, and industry leadership for inspiration, it becomes possible to envision tackling this sector’s emissions,” said Senator Markey. “We still need to do more to spread existing best practices farther and faster.”  

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