Why Heat Pumps, Not Cars, Will Cut Urban Emissions Fastest
Wed Feb 04 2026
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Heating cities by opening windows is not a joke. It’s how many buildings still control temperature in winter, and it’s a climate disaster hiding in plain sight.
In this episode, I’m joined by Drew Maggio, Technical Director at Highmark Building Efficiency, to unpack why buildings are one of the biggest, most underestimated levers in the climate transition, especially in dense cities like New York.
Buildings account for roughly 70% of New York City’s emissions, yet much of the stock was designed for an era of cheap fossil fuels, crude controls, and worst-case thinking. Drew works at the sharp end of fixing that. We talk about what actually breaks when you try to electrify old buildings, and why bad assumptions, not bad technology, are slowing progress.
You’ll hear why oversizing heat pumps for rare freezing days drives up costs and kills projects. We dig into how treating heat as a resource, not waste, unlocks massive gains, from wastewater heat recovery to capturing subway heat that currently just bakes tunnels to 100º F. And you might be surprised by how much energy can be recovered before it ever leaves a building.
We also get into Local Law 97, New York’s landmark building emissions regulation, and why it’s forcing real-world change instead of glossy pledges. This is a grounded, practical conversation about decarbonisation, climate tech, policy, and the uncomfortable reality that many “heritage” systems are simply uncontrolled systems we’ve tolerated for too long.
🎙️ Listen now to hear how to turn building decarbonisation from a compliance headache into a genuine climate solution.
Podcast subscribers
I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers:
Anita Krajnc Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes.
Contact
If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn.
If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show.
Credits
Music credits - Intro by Joseph McDade, and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper
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Send me a message Heating cities by opening windows is not a joke. It’s how many buildings still control temperature in winter, and it’s a climate disaster hiding in plain sight. In this episode, I’m joined by Drew Maggio, Technical Director at Highmark Building Efficiency, to unpack why buildings are one of the biggest, most underestimated levers in the climate transition, especially in dense cities like New York. Buildings account for roughly 70% of New York City’s emissions, yet much of the stock was designed for an era of cheap fossil fuels, crude controls, and worst-case thinking. Drew works at the sharp end of fixing that. We talk about what actually breaks when you try to electrify old buildings, and why bad assumptions, not bad technology, are slowing progress. You’ll hear why oversizing heat pumps for rare freezing days drives up costs and kills projects. We dig into how treating heat as a resource, not waste, unlocks massive gains, from wastewater heat recovery to capturing subway heat that currently just bakes tunnels to 100º F. And you might be surprised by how much energy can be recovered before it ever leaves a building. We also get into Local Law 97, New York’s landmark building emissions regulation, and why it’s forcing real-world change instead of glossy pledges. This is a grounded, practical conversation about decarbonisation, climate tech, policy, and the uncomfortable reality that many “heritage” systems are simply uncontrolled systems we’ve tolerated for too long. 🎙️ Listen now to hear how to turn building decarbonisation from a compliance headache into a genuine climate solution. Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita Krajnc Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. Contact If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Credits Music credits - Intro by Joseph McDade, and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper