25 state governors unveiled an ambitious endeavor to install 20 million heat pumps by 2030, bringing the total to four times that of 2020, during a press conference in New York City on Thursday. An alternative to furnaces and air conditioners, heat pumps use electricity to move heat as opposed to create it, and can both cool and heat a building, depending on the outdoor temperature. The International Energy Agency notes that heat pumps decentralized from gas boilers enable a reduction of up to 80% in greenhouse gas emissions when using cleaner electricity and 20% when operating on emissions-intensive electricity. A recent analysis from the Union of Concerned Scientists, a non-partisan, nonprofit science advocacy organization, found that Maine's heat pump subsidies have been so successful that they have paid for themselves through the reduction of energy costs, according to the organization.
A coalition of 25 state governors publicly declared their commitment to deploy 20 million heat pumps across the United States by 2030 on Thursday. This ambitious goal is a four-fold increase from the current 4.8 million deployed pumps, which were recorded in 2020, according to the independent, non-partisan, nonprofit energy think tank, RMI. Heat pumps are an energy-efficient substitute for fossil fuel-powered furnaces and air conditioners because they use electricity to transfer, not generate, heat. This makes them more effective than gas boilers, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20-80% when leveraging either emissions-intensive or cleaner electricity, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The IEA reported that the operation of buildings constitutes 30% of global energy usage and 26% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. Heat pumps can even save consumers around $300 a year in the US and up to $900 a year in areas with higher gas prices like Europe.The U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan group representing 60% of the US economy and 55% of the population, initiated this commitment. On Thursday, the governors of Washington, New York, and California - who started the alliance in 2017 - spoke about their endeavors. Washington Governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat, declared that "all Americans have certain rights; among those rights are the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of heat pumps." Governor Inslee emphasized that people need to stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer in order to prevent climatic collapse. He also mentioned that the invention of heat pumps is "unfortunately named," because they both heat and cool spaces, and the need for air conditioning is growing in regions like Seattle. From June 26 to July 2, 2021, Seattle suffered an "unprecedented" heat wave resulting in 100 deaths, according to the Washington State Department of Health.52% of households in the US lack air conditioning, particularly in disadvantaged communities, according to a 2022 report from the Brookings Institution. In order to address this inequality, 40% of the benefits generated by this announcement will be allocated to disadvantaged communities. New York Governor Kathy Hochul affirmed that the "effects of climate change" are alive today and that "gas is an old, antiquated, dirty, dangerous product." White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi declared that half of household energy expenditures are dedicated to heating and cooling.The states in the Climate Alliance are providing the funding to install heat pumps through a combination of financial incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and individual state policies. Maine, for instance, has seen its heat pump subsidies prove so successful they have paid for themselves through decreased energy costs according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
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