Campus Leaders for Energy Action Now (CLEAN), a student organization at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, stood at East Campus Mall Friday to urge students to sign their petition.
The petition, which pushes for a rental energy burden disclosure ordinance for the city of Madison, needs at least 2,000 signatures, according to Amanda Sadowski, the community executive member of CLEAN and UW-Madison sophomore.
CLEAN aims to ensure UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Moonkin sticks to the energy goals she outlined and pushes for additional clean energy projects across campus, Sadowski said.
UW-Madison has currently set a goal to have net-zero emissions — when the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted is balanced by the amount removed from the atmosphere — by 2048 and an interim goal of 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
A rental energy burden disclosure ordinance requires landlords to divulge information about their building’s energy efficiency to potential tenants, creating pressure for landlords to decrease energy costs for their renters.
Energy burden is defined by the U.S. Department of Energy as the percentage of household income spent on energy costs. A household energy burden of 6% or more is considered high. Madison has an average energy burden of 2%, but low-income households can experience burdens up to 9%.
Climate change is only exacerbating this issue. Flooding, wildfires and warmer temperatures can damage energy supply, which can disrupt energy transmission into homes.
Additionally, a warmer climate means that more energy will be required to keep residents cool, especially in the summer. An increase in energy consumption increases carbon emissions and may create an influx of power loss across the country, which increases costs for Americans.
Rental buildings use an average of 20% more energy per square foot than non-rentals. According to the 2022 American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau, 52.5% of people living in Madison are renters. Older homes often have lower energy efficiency due to limited insulation and old appliances, which increases energy costs further.
Sadowski told the Cardinal that when energy costs are transparent, prospective renters tend to choose more energy efficient housing. And when renters choose to live in energy efficient housing, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced.
Buildings currently release 39% of the world’s carbon emissions, 28% due to the energy used to heat, cool and power them, according to the World Green Building Council. In Madison, buildings are responsible for 64.9% of the city’s total greenhouse gas emissions, with 45.1% coming from commercial buildings and 19.8% from residential buildings.
Energy-related greenhouse gas emissions increased by 1.4% in 2017 to the equivalent of 32.5 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide. However, without energy efficiency, emissions would have increased by 12% in 2017.
A rental energy burden disclosure in Madison would create transparency for renters regarding energy efficiency, which would result in decreased cost and reduced carbon emissions from rental buildings.
By signing CLEAN’s petition, students can help advocate for clean energy projects on campus and in Madison.
CLEAN is also involved in other clean energy projects on campus. The organization is working toward the addition of electric bikes and an electric lawnmower at the UW-Madison Arboretum and an electric car for University Housing, according to Hannah Stahmann, the campus and systems executive member of CLEAN and UW-Madison senior.
The city of Madison is also taking steps to make buildings more energy efficient with programs such as Project Home, which aids in the weatherization of homes on behalf of the state of Wisconsin.
Lindsay Pfeiffer is the science editor for The Daily Cardinal.
