Implications of Green Technologies for Environmental Justice

This course will review disparities in access to green technologies, in the U.S. and across the globe. There are large disparities in access to green technologies between countries and among different demographic groups within countries. Unless carefully managed, the energy transition risks exacerbating some of these inequalities, for example, by burdening those who are excluded from efficient new technologies with the costs of maintaining legacy infrastructure. The energy transition will create new interdependencies between sectors—for example, between buildings, the power sector, and transportation—requiring integrated design of policies and infrastructure in different sectors. The equitable adoption of new technologies is contingent on broadening access to enabling technologies such as the Internet and payment systems. Decision-makers must focus on new technologies that remove disparities in access to services but do not replicate current inefficiencies in providing those services (e.g., equitable access to mobility—not only to motorized personal vehicles). Data at higher resolutions and with broader coverage are needed to design equitable technology deployment strategies and evaluate their success.


Continuing Education Units (CEUS) submitted 1 hour in*

• Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI)
• Building Performance Institute (BPI) NonWholeHouse
• Submitted for American Institute of Architects - AIA (HSW)
• Certified Green Professional (NARI & CGP)
• Certified GreenHome Professional (CGHP) Pillar(s): Energy, Health, Materials, Water, Place
• American Institute of Building Designers (AIBD)
• State Architect / Builder License may be applicable
• Building Science Institute (BSI) Verifier
• Society of American Registered Architects (SARA)


Lessons Learned

1. Review the different dimensions of energy and environmental justice through the lens of Social Equity
2. Understand evidence describing how access to decarbonization new technologies varies across nations and across population groups
3. Understand how green technologies create interdependencies between sectors that have in the past been independent and how that impacts social equity
4. Understand the track record of policy interventions aimed at reducing inequitable access to new technologies


Need CEUS?
Take the Quiz here:
https://greenhomeinstitute.thinkific....


Speaker:

Parth Vaishnav, Assistant Professor of Sustainable Systems
School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan

My research aims to understand how technology can help solve social problems. Much of my work focuses on the environmental and human health consequences of energy production and use. I employ quantitative decision analysis, buttressed by qualitative insight, to understand how economic, political, and operational realities constrain technology deployment.

I focus on finding strategies to decarbonize the economy, and to adapt to the warming that has and will occur even if we cut greenhouse gas emissions very rapidly. I am particularly interested in finding ways to make both mitigation and adaptation equitable. My projects fall into two broad categories: (1) The environmental consequences of electrification, and (2) The consequences of automation for the environment, equity, and work in regard to products this session.