Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Department of Energy on April 2 released a federal blueprint to decarbonize the building sector, which accounts for over a third of the nation’s planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.
- The plan lays out actions the federal government can take to reduce building emissions 90% by 2050 compared with 2005, but it also calls for states, local governments and tribes to help with funding, policy reform and setting codes and standards.
- While the DOE says that reducing building emissions promises to save consumers money on energy bills and avoid health costs, building decarbonization faces challenges such as pushback from the fossil fuel and building industries, upfront cost concerns and the huge number of buildings that must be addressed.
Dive Insight:
Nearly 130 million buildings exist in the U.S., and more are coming, according to the DOE. Between now and 2050, the agency expects 40 million new homes and 60 billion square feet of commercial space to be constructed. Reducing the climate pollution these structures create will require tackling the problem from several angles, from increasing energy efficiency and clean energy use to lowering the carbon footprint of building materials.
The specific targets the Biden administration wants to meet are:
- Reduce the energy used on-site in buildings 35% by 2035 and 50% by 2050 compared with 2005 levels.
- Reduce greenhouse gas emissions buildings produce on-site 25% by 2035 and 75% by 2050 compared with 2005 levels.
- Triple the potential of demand flexibility, which is the capacity of energy users to change their electricity consumption patterns, by 2050 compared with 2020.
- Reduce embodied emissions from building materials and construction 90% by 2050 compared with 2005.
A planning document like the blueprint can “go a long way to facilitate” careful coordination between federal agencies, Olivia Walker, equitable building decarbonization advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in an email to Smart Cities Dive.
“Right now, there are several federal agencies with varying grants and programs available that support building decarbonization in some shape or form – and that’s amazing,” she said. “However, there is a significant challenge in ensuring that the parties eligible to apply for these grants and programs have the capacity and awareness to maximize the opportunities available.” It’s critical for the federal opportunities to build off each other and for interconnections between the opportunities to be made clear to potential applicants, she said.
The blueprint details high-priority actions state, local and tribal governments can take and have taken to lower building emissions. The federal plan also suggests how these governments can fund such initiatives: They can take advantage of bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act programs, deploy financing with green banks and oversee programs funded by utility ratepayers, for example.
The document recommends stronger local codes, such as those that require electric-ready buildings, as well as state and local building performance standards, which require existing buildings to lower greenhouse gas emissions or energy use over time. Climate-minded procurement standards can usher in lower-carbon building materials, while state-level or regional appliance standards can increase energy efficiency, the blueprint says.
Regulating and reforming utilities are other actions the blueprint recommends, as are zoning reforms, such as those that prioritize equitable distribution of sustainable building infrastructure and green spaces across neighborhoods.
The federal government said it can support such work by, for example, offering technical assistance and financing programs, facilitating information-sharing between communities and participating in model code development processes.
‘There is no one size fits all approach’
Local governments still face numerous challenges in their work to decarbonize buildings, the NRDC’s Walker said. A federal appeals court’s decision to overturn Berkeley, California’s first-in-the-nation ban on gas in new construction was a setback, she said, although it wasn’t the end of local rules aimed at restricting fossil fuel use.
“We’re going to see cities going for strengthened ordinances that focus on emissions and energy performance rather than fuel source directly,” she said. “As gas appliances just can’t keep up with their electric counterparts in those respects, these policy paths alongside preferential funding opportunities for electric appliances will ultimately reach the same outcome.”
Ensuring affordable housing and stability for residents is an additional hurdle for cities looking to decarbonize, Walker added. “Without a deep understanding of the risks to a given region’s renters and the needs of affordable housing providers — particularly nonprofit providers — building decarbonization has the potential to accelerate tenant displacement and even inhibit the development of new affordable housing,” she said.
These risks differ from community to community, Walker said, heightening the need for local governments to collaborate closely on building decarbonization with the stakeholders, groups and coalitions in their area. “There is no one size fits all approach for local governments to decarbonize equitably,” she said. But addressing these risks also presents a great opportunity that goes beyond building decarbonization. “It could be an opportunity to strengthen tenant protections, or facilitate the development of higher quality affordable housing, or create new labor standards for government subsidized work,” Walker said.
