The mayors of 10 major US cities have committed to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings as part of a programme that could save $1bn a year.

 

The new City Energy Project (CEP), an initiative from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Institute for Market Transformation, will help the 10 cities craft their own customised plans for boosting energy efficiency in their buildings and learn from each other's successes.

 

The initiative unites the cities of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Orlando, Philadelphia and Salt Lake City in a common mission to reduce the energy consumption of buildings, which represent 40 per cent of US emissions - the largest single source. At a city level the effect is even more pronounced, with more than half of carbon emissions in most US cities coming from buildings - and in some cities as much as 75 per cent.

 

However, much of the energy consumed by US buildings is wasted. By clawing some of this energy back, the CEP aims to reduce pollution and demand for new power plants.

 

It is projected that the project could cut a combined total of between five million and seven million tons of carbon emissions each year - equivalent to taking between one and 1.5 million cars off the road or three to four power plants offline.

 

The initiative is also expected to generate economic benefits, such as creating jobs for electricians, architects, engineers and builders, raising property values and saving rate payers almost $1bn on their energy bills.