Ask people how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and most will say “improve energy efficiency.” That may be a step in the right direction, but it’s time to adopt a better measure – a building’s total carbon emissions.

Energizing the Green New Deal Part Three is the final installment of our three-part series on realistic, primarily market-based methods for creating a zero carbon economy. Buildings are responsible for about 40% of greenhouse gas emissions and transportation for another 29%, so there is a lot of work to do there. Agriculture and forestry are two more fields that must be addressed.

The future is electric and the power will come mostly, if not entirely, from renewable sources. In Part Two of Energizing the Green New Deal, we get specific about strategies that utilities and heavy industry can utiliz e to address climate change and make a profit at the same time. Utilities will play a central role in guiding development of renewable resources and efficient ways to deploy them. Industry may present the greatest challenges, but there are existing technologies to smooth the transition, plus smart incentives and new technologies in the pipeline.

The move away from fossil fuels requires that buildings and vehicles be powered by electricity from renewable sources, such as wind, solar, etc. All-electric homes in cold climates present a challenge for comfort and cost, but those barriers have fallen to recent developments in design and technology - making all-electric homes desirable even in cold climates.