Banking on Climate: Mortgage Lending for Decarbonization

In addressing climate change, building decarbonization offers the greatest opportunities for emissions reduction, new investments, and job creation.

This report presents a set of recommendations to help lenders seize the market opportunity created by the need to reduce real estate’s greenhouse gas emissions and shows why NYC is the perfect proving ground to start building their decarbonization finance practices.

Authored by New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business (NYU Stern CSB), and the Chao-Hon Chen Institute for Global Real Estate (NYU Stern Chen Institute), this report summarizes research by NYU Stern and synthesizes recommendations and feedback from participants in the Building Decarbonization Finance Task Force—a group of mortgage lenders, building owners, policymakers, and nonprofits convened by NYCEDC and NYU Stern that met from January to June 2024 to discuss opportunities and challenges that the US mortgage industry faces as a result of efforts to decarbonize the built environment.