Market mechanisms in the form of technology incentives and energy prices that reflect true environmental and social costs will also be needed to accomplish these goals. Smart grid technologies should be required in all new buildings and tenant build-outs. To support this, utilities should be allowed by their regulators to significantly ramp up their energy-efficiency incentive programs and institute revenue neutral (or not) sliding scale hook-up fees that reward efficient "grid-smart" buildings with low to no fees, while code-minimum buildings should get socked with hefty fees. Banks and insurance companies must increase their current offerings for green buildings to reflect the lower risks of green buildings, as well as help minimize total extra initial costs of green, which there will be as markets mature. Non-economic sweeteners, such as accelerated permit approval and density bonuses for LEED-certified buildings will also help.

In addition, policymakers will need to be less squeamish about pricing carbon. Since we know with 100% certainty that the only precisely wrong answer is zero, no matter what price they put on carbon, "approximately right" will be better than the precisely wrong price we have now. This is a policy decision, since our present 18th-century market structure is not capable of pricing social goods without intervention.

Similarly, building codes will need to improve by greater amounts and more frequently. ASHRAE should expedite the development and adoption of Standard 189 and strongly push its adoption nationwide. The market incentive programs described above will be very helpful in this regard, but we need to support the necessary changes in construction practices through training and market education about the benefits of investing in a low-carbon future.