Nine states, including California and New York, sign heat pump agreement to clean up air pollution

The side of an apartment building with many windows. Some of the windows have AC units sticking out of them. One window on the bottom floor has a larger appliance, a heat pump, sticking out of the window. — *A heat pump is installed on the first floor among many AC units at the New York City Housing Authority’s Woodside Houses in Queens, New York.* | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Nine states inked an agreement today to promote heat pump sales. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) sets a 2030 target for heat pumps to make up 65 of residential heating, cooling, and water heating equipment sales. By 2040, the goal is for heat pumps to account for 90 percent of the HVAC and water heating market.

Heat pumps are more energy efficient alternatives to traditional heating and cooling systems. And because they’re electric, they can feasibly run on renewables like wind and solar once there’s more clean energy coursing through power grids. The states on board with the agreement include: California, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Rhode Island.