As Interim President Kotlikoff pointed out in a recent op-ed in The Sun, we need to take action on climate change. However, how he proposes Cornell does so is troublingly flawed. He suggests that the University should not begin decarbonizing campus heat in the near term because, on Cornell’s incorrect analysis, switching to electrified heat will backfire by increasing greenhouse gas emissions relative to continued use of Cornell’s gas-fired plant for heating. Cornell’s argument is well-intentioned but wrong and sets a dangerous precedent that severely undermines climate action here and everywhere.

Unwittingly, the Cornell president platformed a talking point for the American Gas Association (henceforth referred to as Big Oil), which is based on the wrong conclusion from the wrong choice of method: a short-run instead of a long-run emission rate analysis. Decisions about building electrification need to be based on a long-run perspective, not a short-run snapshot. The crux of the matter is: Should we adopt a long-run view and build now for the renewable energy transition we need, or adopt a short-run perspective and delay action until the grid has already largely transitioned?

Cornell and Big Oil appear united in their approach: We should make decarbonization decisions based on a short-run analysis. As Big Oil knows well, this incorrect methodology dramatically underestimates the benefits of decarbonization and would cripple progressive electrification laws in both the short and long term, in Ithaca and most of the U.S.

Cornell is leveraging this misplaced argument to change Ithaca’s progressive energy law (the Ithaca Energy Code Supplement, or IECS). Starting in 2026, the IECS holds that fossil fuels cannot be used to heat any new buildings or major renovations in Ithaca. Cornell believes their district energy system should be exempt from the fossil-fuel phaseout, arguing that this would save emissions. Except that is wrong.

To put it in technical terms: When making long-term decisions about campus infrastructure, Cornell should use emissions estimates that account........

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