New York Department of Transportation receives $32 million grant to reduce pollution from construction

New York will further its efforts to reduce air pollution from construction after receiving a $32 million grant through the Federal Highway Administration. 

The New York Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has been working on identifying and using construction materials that reduce greenhouse gas emissions due to lower levels of embodied carbon through the state’s Low-Carbon Transportation Materials program. 

Embodied carbon refers to the estimate of the greenhouse gas emissions that are produced during the stages of a building or infrastructure’s life cycle. 

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The money was provided through the FHWA’s Low-Carbon Transportation Materials Grants Program. 

“Whether it’s droughts, wildfires or record-breaking snowstorms, New Yorkers are feeling the effects of climate change in their daily lives, and these low carbon grants are an important tool in our efforts to stop it,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said.  

Embodied carbon accounts for about one-third of the carbon emissions from the construction industry and 15% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.  

Greenhouse gases – including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and synthetic chemicals –trap heat in the atmosphere. This heat trapping causes changes in the radiative balance of the Earth—the balance between energy received from the sun and emitted from Earth—that alter climate and weather patterns at global and regional scales. 

The program’s goals include identifying low carbon materials, adopting lower carbon specifications for large volume materials for state projects and developing standards for reducing the environmental impact from construction materials.

Program details include: 

• Developing and implementing outreach and training for agency staff and industry stakeholders. 

• Evaluating low carbon materials to ensure they meet technical and performance requirements. 

• Focusing on technical specifications that allow for use of materials, products and strategies that result in lower embodied carbon materials. 

• Establishing a process to identify, verify and use materials with lower levels of embodied greenhouse gas emissions. 

Photo by Max Andrey