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Hi Bluesky! We're a nonprofit think tank that uses data science to shed light on state climate policies. Our newest report, on NY’s planned Cap & Invest program, was commissioned by @earthjustice.bsky.social, @envdefensefund.bsky.social, and We Act. Let's dig into the findings, and please AMA! 1/14

Under C&I, pollution is no longer free: polluters must buy permits—"allowances", in the jargon—for each ton of greenhouse gas they emit. This raises the $ of fossil fuels, which incentivizes households & businesses to cut emissions, whether by using fewer ff's, or by switching to clean energy. 2/14

Let's dig into the spending. First, buildings. It turns out that 88% of dwellings in NY could lower their energy bills if they switched to heat pumps today, though 58% of these would first need to weatherize before seeing savings. (Under higher carbon prices, both of these numbers improve.) 4/14

What kinds of savings are we talking about? Depends on the home, of course, but the median household would save an average of $54 a month, or $648 a year. Under higher allowance prices, savings go up: to $804/yr under the low price scenario, $1020 under the high. 5/14

Why does that happen? The higher the allowance price, the higher the cost of heating your home w/ fossil fuels. But electricity prices would not rise, even though NY’s grid is only ~50% clean, because the sector would likely be exempt, as it already participates in multi-state C&I system RGGI. 6/14