Akinola Afolarin, a Fellow of the Institute for Energy Democracy at the Pace Energy and Climate Center has led a group of sustainability experts to launch the Center for Global Sustainability Law (CGSL), an interdisciplinary research and policy Center that focuses on the intersection between law and sustainability, by expounding on the critical role of law and emerging regulations in advancing a sustainable future that leaves no one behind. According to Akinola, the establishment of the Center is imperative to employ the instrumentality of law to advance global sustainability. Speaking further, he states that “our world faces a wide range of challenges that cut across environmental, social and economic issues. In addressing these challenges, we have over the years emphasized the finance and the scientific sides of sustainability, while less attention is paid to the legal framework needed to propel the efforts being made to address the problems.”
When asked about how the current political climate might be impacting climate and sustainability efforts, Akinola opined that “notwithstanding the current political climate in some countries which might have resulted in some organizations scaling back on their climate-related targets, we must constantly be reminded that the goal of a sustainable world transcends climate change. Even more critical is the fact that the challenges that our world is daily confronted with, cannot be wished away on the altar of the political disposition of any government. Governments are transient but sustainability problems could last for generations, and even worsen. Therefore, as these challenges increase, so must our collective response be intensified. This is why CGSL is here.”
You can learn more about CGSL at: www.cgsul.org
Email: info@cgsul.org
LinkedIn: Center for Global Sustainability Law
We wish Akinola and his team success as they embark on this critical and impact-driven journey.
The Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University is pleased to announce that Michael Hamersky was appointed to serve as the Executive Director of the Pace Energy and Climate Center. In addition to leading the Center, he will teach Natural Resources Law at the Law School. Over nearly four decades, the Pace Energy and Climate Center has established itself as a national leader working at the intersection of energy and the environment.
Prior to this role, Michael served as the Climate Change and Land Use Policy Fellow at Pace Haub Law where he developed policy solutions related to climate change mitigation, clean energy deployment, sustainable development, and renewable energy incentive structures. Michael has also produced scholarship related to conservation in Indigenous communities and ocean governance.
“During his time at the Law School, first as an LLM student, and more recently as a Climate Change and Land Use Policy Fellow, Michael has established himself as a forward-thinking leader in the field of environmental law,” said Dean Horace E. Anderson Jr. “Our Pace Energy and Climate Center has established itself as a trusted Center and thought-leader, frequently engaging government decision makers and key stakeholders with objective research and analysis in law and policy. I am confident that with Michael serving as the Executive Director of the Center, our Center will continue to serve as a model and leader in the field.”
“I am beyond excited to join Pace Haub Law in this new capacity,” stated Michael. “I look forward to using this new platform to highlight the incredible work of the number one environmental law program in the nation’s talented students and to prioritize the Pace Energy and Climate Center’s work on the clean energy transition and the impact such transition will have on vulnerable communities.” Prior to joining the Haub Law community, Michael practiced corporate restructuring litigation for over fifteen years in New York City, and was an adjunct professor at the Fordham University School of Law. He received his JD from Fordham University School of Law and his LLM in Environmental Studies from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, with a focus on Energy Law and Climate Change.
Over time, the Pace Energy and Climate Center has grown from its initial focus on energy regulatory law and policies, expanding its focus to encompass transportation and fuels as well as climate change mitigation and resilience. Through the analysis and advancement of critical policies engineered to improve energy efficiency, accelerate renewable energy and distributed generation, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and make our communities more resilient in the face of climate change impacts, the Center has continually reconfirmed its position at the leading edge of finding solutions to our energy and climate challenges on the local, state, regional, national, and international levels.
The Pace Energy and Climate Center was founded in 1987 as the Pace Energy Project by Dean Emeritus Richard L. Ottinger upon his retirement from the US Congress. Dean Ottinger recognized early on the significant environmental impacts of our supply and use of energy in the United States. From the very beginning, under Dean Ottinger’s leadership, the Center provided cutting-edge research and analysis of energy production alternatives’ social and environmental costs and benefits. Through careful and consistent engagement across communities, the Center was among the first organizations to highlight the benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy as alternatives to conventional electricity generation.
In addition to being a force for legal and policy change, the Center also trains the next generation of smart energy leaders. Students from the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University are actively involved in the Center’s projects. Haub Law student interns contribute directly to the creation and development of work products for both domestic and international projects, building important professional skills in policy analysis, legal writing, administrative practice related to electric utility law, and other areas related to energy law.
Students who participate in the Center’s work have gone on to careers at institutions central to the energy discussion, such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Energy Foundation, the California Independent System Operator, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the New York Power Authority, the New York Public Service Commission, and the New York Independent System Operator, to name a handful.
Prior to Michael’s appointment, Elisabeth Haub School of Law Adjunct Professor Joseph Siegel served as interim Executive Director of the Pace Energy and Climate Center. Previously, Joe worked for 38 years at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 2, office in New York where he was a Senior Attorney, co-chaired the Region 2 Climate Change Workgroup and the Office of Regional Counsel’s Climate Change Workgroup, managed the Region 2 Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution program, and served on the Steering Committee of the Mid-Atlantic Federal Climate Partners.
On June 2, 2025, the Pace Energy and Climate Center (PECC) filed a submission with the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in response to a call for inputs on the potential impacts of greenhouse gas reduction measures. The PECC’s submission flows from a program under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement that examines the impacts of greenhouse gas mitigation measures, recognizing that sometimes such measures produce negative effects.
To better understand the impacts of greenhouse gas reduction actions, the parties to the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement (the Parties) created in 2018 the Katowice Committee of Experts on the Impacts of the Implementation of Response Measures (KCI), to assist them in sharing information, experience, and best practices on the impacts. At COP28 in 2023, the Parties tasked the Secretariat (Decision 13/CP.28) to organize two-day global dialogues in 2024 and 2025 on the impact of greenhouse gas reduction measures, in conjunction with the KCI.
Non-party stakeholders, like the PECC, were invited to submit their views on possible topics for the global dialogues. The PECC’s submission, which was prepared by Joseph Siegel, PECC’s outgoing Interim Executive Director, with the assistance of Brooke Wood, PECC Legal Research Assistant, recommends that the Secretariat include, as a topic in the 2025 global dialogue, the potential for conflict to emerge from greenhouse gas reduction actions.
The submission provides examples of conflict and tensions stemming from greenhouse gas reduction actions, such as community opposition to solar installations, lawsuits against wind projects, and conflicts from mining minerals that are needed for decarbonization technologies. The PECC’s submission also discusses the opportunities for broader use of conflict resolution, conflict prevention, and conflict management strategies, which can be effective in addressing greenhouse gas mitigation-related conflicts and tensions. It then suggests the benefit of using mediators and third-party impartial facilitators to design and implement processes for conflict resolution, prevention, and management. Finally, the PECC makes recommendations to the Secretariat and KCI on designing the two-day dialogue to maximize its effectiveness.
PECC’s submission can be found here.
By Opeyemi Naimot Dawodu, Legal Intern, Pace Energy and Climate Center
Introduction
The Pace Energy and Climate Center (PECC) is happy to announce the publication of the report, Expanding Municipal Options for Thermal Energy Networks (“the Report”), —developed for Mount Vernon, a municipality in New York State, on strategies for a permitting regime and the potential options for structuring thermal energy networks (TENs). TENs, otherwise called district geothermal, involves the adoption of technologies that use heat pumps to move thermal energy from sources, such as the ground, surface water, wastewater, and waste heat, to provide heating and hot water to one or more buildings. TENs also involve moving thermal energy to sinks, such as the ground, and surface water, to provide cooling to one or more buildings. Thus, TENs are ideal for heating and cooling purposes in buildings.
The goals of municipal TENs projects are to enhance decarbonization efforts, promote cost-effective means of providing heating and cooling to homes, commercial buildings, and industry, as well as promote equitable access. These projects are a critical effort towards the fight against climate change because the energy supply contributes to no less than three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from commercial and residential buildings from heating and cooling are significant.
Legal Considerations for Developing TENs
It is against this background that PECC has developed the Report, which critically evaluates a myriad of options available to Mount Vernon and other municipalities for implementing TENs in their communities. The report considers affordability as the central goal while also taking into consideration sustainability and equitable access to TENs. The report discusses some key considerations that could potentially affect the affordability of TENs. These considerations include the permitting regime, legal and tax considerations, and business models. A unique feature of the report is that it highlights potential strategies that Mount Vernon and other municipalities in New York can adopt in developing a permitting regime. The report advises Mount Vernon on the most viable options for structuring the permitting regime and how the options impact the project timelines and cost. A permitting regime that is more flexible and less cumbersome is highly recommended for Mount Vernon and other municipalities as this will promote the development of geothermal technologies and reduce energy costs that could be passed onto consumers.
Proposed Permitting Regime for TENs
Specifically, the report proposes a risk-based approach for the permitting regime, which involves categorizing the permits into four types. That is, Types A, B, C, and D. The report suggests that Type A permits would apply to small-scale, closed-loop and low-risk projects. Type B permits would cover more complex closed-loop geothermal pump projects that are low risk but more complex than Type A. Type C permits would apply to open-loop systems while Type D would potentially cover projects with technical risk, a higher degree of complexity and environmental sensitivity. These tiered categorizations help to strike a balance between low-risk and high-risk projects while factoring in the features, complexity, technical requirements, and environmental risks involved. The tiered permitting approach would also enhance the ease of adoption and advancement of TENs while ensuring cost-effectiveness. In the report, PECC also proposes that municipalities facilitate TENs projects through permits and by incorporating federal and state environmental regulations and industry standards. The Report also calls upon municipalities to consult with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation which is in the process of developing a regulatory framework for TENs that will govern drillers.
Legal/Tax Considerations
On the legal and tax considerations, PECC’s report analyzes the various ways the TENs project can be structured to maximize the tax exemptions, incentives, and ensure efficient pricing. To achieve this, ownership, financing, operation, and revenue generation options are considered in the Report to give municipalities a clear picture of the options, and respective tax consequences. For instance, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has extended the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) to apply to geothermal technologies. Also, PECC’s Report factors in the legal considerations under the New York State Utility Thermal Energy Network and Jobs Act, the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) regulatory roles and how to qualify for PSC regulation exemption, as well as the New York State law governing Local Development Corporations (LDCs).
Business Models for TENs
In addition, the PECC report suggests the adoption of business models, like municipally-owned (not-for-profit) TENs, as this will provide significant economic benefits for consumers, prioritize cost efficiency, and ensure long-term community benefits. Municipally-owned TENs could be structured with complete municipal ownership, which means that the municipality owns, finances, and operates the TEN. This type of model is appropriate for a municipality that has the administrative, financial, and technical capacity to run the TEN. There is maximum cost-efficiency and control in this model. There are other types of models including partial municipal ownership with outsourced services and private or utility-owned TENs with municipal involvement. These models are discussed in the report with particular emphasis on the municipally-owned TENs as the most viable option for Mount Vernon.
Conclusion
Overall, PECC’s focus in the TENs report is to assist Mount Vernon and other New York municipalities in developing geothermal technologies in the most affordable, sustainable, and equitable manner possible. The report’s objectives align with the New York State decarbonization goals as well as Statewide actions to promote energy efficiency in buildings and industries. PECC remains committed to foster, through its projects, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The report, Expanding Municipal Options for Thermal Energy Networks, can be found here.
The Pace Energy and Climate Center (Center) is happy to announce that Ryan McEnany, one of the Center’s Institute for Energy Democracy Fellows, has been named a New York City & State Trailblazer in Clean Energy. This prestigious honor recognizes New York’s clean energy leaders, including innovative industry figures, groundbreaking policymakers and notable environmentalists and conservationists.
In addition to being an Institute for Energy Democracy Fellow at the Center, Ryan McEnany is the Director of Energy and Resiliency for Pace University. He is forging a path for the University to meet its commitment to become a net-zero institution by 2040. In doing so, he is leading the effort to decarbonize the University and dramatically reduce energy use and carbon emissions while saving $11 million in energy costs to date. McEnany has thus far led the University to a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and put it on track to achieve a 50% reduction by 2030. One main strategy being deployed is incorporating beneficial electrification through the installation of a 700-ton heat pump, among other energy efficiency projects, into an ongoing renovation at the University’s Manhattan campus that will result in a 60% carbon reduction for the building.
Ryan McEnany’s bio can be found at: https://energy.pace.edu/experts/
By Elizabeth Wescoe, Legal Intern, Pace Energy and Climate Center
Since 2021, the Pace Energy and Climate Center (the Center) has issued 10 regulatory and permitting reviews for feasibility studies developed by Endurant Energy, a leading distributed energy infrastructure developer, in support of thermal energy network (TEN) projects. The Center’s regulatory and permitting reviews advise the developer on how to establish district geothermal energy systems while navigating a complex legal system. Geothermal energy technologies produce heating and cooling for buildings by using a heat transfer system that absorbs thermal energy from the Earth’s subsurface, sewer systems, or surface water.[1]
The Center hopes that its participation in TEN feasibility studies will contribute to the advancement of thermal technologies as an important renewable energy source. The Center’s first nine regulatory and permitting reviews assessed sites in New York State. The latest report, which was finished in January 2025, looks beyond New York State borders and into the Western United States. This expansion represents the technology’s growth in popularity, as well as the Center’s success in aiding developers in building advanced, clean energy infrastructure.
In New York, the feasibility study reports have supported projects that were made possible through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) via the closed Community Heat Pump Systems program (PON 4614).[2] The program has provided funding to “over 50 project sites, that have explored a wide range of technical solutions and business models for thermal energy networks.”[3] Each report has assessed the site’s areas of concern, applicable statutes and permitting requirements, anticipated challenges, potential business models, recommended steps, and authorities with jurisdiction over the project. The reports also address the challenges faced by developers, considering that regulations in New York State are in development.
The Center’s reports have contributed to New York district geothermal projects in Erie County (Silo City), the Bronx (the Peninsula), Queens (Innovation QNS), New Rochelle (Pratt Landing), Flushing Bay (Willets Point), Gowanus, Brooklyn (Gowanus Green), East New York, Brooklyn (Spring Creek Towers), Long Island City (Ravenswood), and Mount Vernon (20 South 2nd Square). With each of these locations came varying local ordinances, policies, and geographic hurdles, making each analysis unique to the area.
The Center’s most recent work is in support of a project site located in the Western United States. This location has a completely different set of applicable state and local laws, most of which focus on the conservation of water in an arid environment. The Center conducted a structured assessment of the Western site akin to its work on the New York projects, by looking at key issues with the location, environmental regulations, recommended steps, and jurisdictional authorities. Unlike New York, the Western State does have some regulation regarding geothermal energy, but it still lacks a comprehensive set of laws to guide developers, making the Center’s feasibility study report an important contribution to the geothermal project.
The Pace Energy and Climate Center’s work on these studies, in collaboration with Endurant Energy has helped to advance the development of district geothermal energy projects by addressing complex regulatory and site-specific issues. The Center’s contribution is particularly important given potential future changes to the regulatory environment for these geothermal projects.
[1] NYSERDA, Overcoming Legal and Regulatory Barriers to District Geothermal in New York State, Final Report (2021).
[2] Community Heat Pump Systems (PON 4614) Projects, https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/All-Programs/Large-Scale-Thermal/Winners (last visited Mar. 8, 2025).
[3] Id.
