(WNY News Now) In a major step to fight climate change, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has secured $32 million from the Federal Highway Administration to advance the state’s transportation projects toward environmentally friendly, low-carbon materials.
The New York State Department of Transportation has been awarded a $32 million grant to promote the use of low-carbon materials in construction projects, Governor Kathy Hochul stated. The Federal Highway Administration money will support NYSDOT’s continued efforts to find and employ building materials with lower embodied carbon levels, which will assist cut greenhouse gas emissions. The funding was made possible through the Low-Carbon Transportation Materials Grants program, which was created by the Inflation Reduction Act and offers financial support for the use of building materials that produce significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions.
These low carbon awards are a crucial weapon in our efforts to address climate change, which is having an impact on New Yorkers’ daily lives through droughts, wildfires, and record-breaking snowstorms, Governor Hochul said.With the support of this Biden-Harris Administration grant, we will be able to use cleaner materials in our transportation projects, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing our fight against climate change.
The estimate of greenhouse gas emissions generated over the course of a building or infrastructure’s life cycle is known as “embodied carbon.” Approximately one-third of the carbon emissions from the building sector are attributed to embodied carbon. Transparency regarding the embodied carbon linked with a particular material or product is necessary for comparisons when choosing and acquiring lower embodied carbon materials.
The funding will support the efforts of NYSDOT’s Low Carbon Transportation Materials program to set standards for minimizing the environmental impact of building materials, adopt lower carbon criteria for large volume materials for state projects, and discover low carbon materials. In particular, NYSDOT will benefit from the funding:
- Develop and implement outreach and training for agency staff and industry stakeholders.
- Evaluate low carbon materials to ensure they meet technical and performance requirements.
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Develop or update technical specifications to allow for use of materials, products and strategies that result in lower embodied carbon materials.
- Establish a process to identify, verify and use materials with lower levels of embodied greenhouse gas emissions.
“Governor Kathy Hochul has made it clear that the fight against global warming demands that we leave no stone unturned in our efforts to find solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector,” said Marie Therese Dominguez, commissioner of the New York State Department of Transportation. In order to protect our environment for coming generations, NYSDOT will continue to set the standard for finding and using more climate-friendly materials with the support of these federal monies. Embodied carbon is a significant source to greenhouse gas emissions.
“This is a win-win: increasing construction projects with Made in the USA materials and lowering greenhouse gas emissions throughout the Empire State,” stated Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer. In order to assist open the door for more low-carbon materials in transportation projects throughout New York, I am pleased to present this $32 million in federal money from my Inflation Reduction Act. In addition to reducing carbon emissions and stimulating the economy, this investment, coupled with funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Law and other IRA programs, is setting the groundwork for long-overdue construction projects. I appreciate Governor Hochul’s efforts in making excellent use of these federal funds.
Concerning the Department of TransportationProviding a secure, dependable, equitable, and resilient transportation system that links communities, improves quality of life, safeguards the environment, and promotes New York State’s economic prosperity is the goal of the New York State Department of Transportation.
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