Overview:

Summary: Gasoline-powered vehicles lose a majority of their energy as waste heat. Regulating the idling of vehicles can reduce local air tempearture, decrease GHG emissions, protect human health.

Implementation: Establish a program for community members to report idling vehicles.

Considerations for Use: Consider providing incentives (e.g. a portion of the fine that vehicle drivers pay) to encourage participation. This intervention can target freight transportation, taxis, or all vehicles in a particular zone or citywide.

• Policy Levers: The mechanism municipalities can use to actualize the intervention. These policy levers will likely be used in combination with each other.
  
  
  Awareness and EngagementGovernments may design and operate programs with the goal of increasing awareness and engagement among constituents or stakeholder groups about the risks and opportunities of extreme heat.
• Trigger Points: Opportunities for municipalities to implement risk reduction and preparedness interventions based on the policy lever, building on the United Nations Environment Programme triggers used in the Beating the Heat handbook (2021).
  
  
  City planning processesIncludes city initiatives such as the development of climate action plan, pathway to zero-energy, master plan, transit plan, energy mapping etc.
  No-regrets actions (low cost/low effort but substantial benefit)Interventions that are relatively low-cost and low effort (in terms of requisite dependencies) but have substantial environmental and/or social benefits.
• Intervention Type:
  Planning/Policy
• Sectors:
  Transportation

Impact:

• Target Beneficiaries:
  Heat-vulnerable communities, Residents
• Phase of Impact:
  Risk reduction and mitigation
• Metrics:
  Changes in traffic or congestion

Case Studies:

• NYC Air Complaint Program

Implementation:

• Intervention Scale:
  City, Neighborhood
• Authority and Governance:
  City government
• Implementation Timeline:
  Short-term (1-2 Years)
• Implementation Stakeholders:
  City government
• Funding Sources:
  Public investment
• Capacity to Act:
  High

Benefits:

• Cost-Benefit:
  Low
• Public Good:
  Medium
• GHG Reduction:
  Medium
• Co-benefits (Climate/Environmental):
  Reduce air and water pollution, Reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Co-benefits (Social):
  Improve human health