Biden Admin Unveils First National Blueprint for Reducing Building Emissions

Manhattan's skyline in New York City, on June 13, 2019. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Biden administration’s Department of Energy (DOE) unveiled its first-ever national blueprint for aggressively decarbonizing the U.S. residential and commercial building sectors on April 2.

Titled “Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy by 2050: A National Blueprint for the Buildings Sector,” the comprehensive plan is non-binding. This means there is a chance that construction companies, building owners, and local governments, who may oppose the measures and goals listed in the plan, will not act upon it.

Still, officials say it has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from buildings by 65 percent by 2035 and 90 percent by 2050.

In a press release, the Department of Energy said the blueprint is the “first sector-wide strategy for building decarbonization developed by the federal government” and underscores President Biden’s whole-of-government approach to “cutting harmful carbon emissions and achieving the nation’s ambitious clean energy and climate goals.”

The DOE developed the plan in collaboration with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and other federal agencies.

According to the Biden administration, the building sector accounts for more than one-third of domestic climate pollution and $370 billion in annual energy costs.

If it were to meet the goal of a 90 percent reduction in total greenhouse gas, this would save consumers more than $100 billion in annual energy costs and avoid $17 billion in annual health costs, the department said.

‘Lowering Utility Bills and Creating Healthier Communities’

“America’s building sector accounts for more than a third of the harmful emissions jeopardizing our air and health, but the Biden-Harris Administration has developed a forward-looking strategy to slash these pollutants from buildings across the nation,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm.

“As part of a whole-of-government approach, DOE is outlining for the first time ever a comprehensive federal plan to reduce energy in our homes, schools, and workplaces, lowering utility bills and creating healthier communities while combating the climate crisis,” Ms. Granholm added.

Specifically, the blueprint focuses on four “strategic objectives,” according to the DOE: increasing building energy efficiency, accelerating onsite emissions reductions, bettering interactions between buildings and the electricity grid, and cutting down emissions from producing, transporting, installing, and disposing of building materials.

Each one of the strategic objectives also has specific performance targets and market, policy, and technology milestones that must be reached by 2035 and 2050.

To do so, the government will need to deploy a wide range of “decarbonization and energy efficiency technologies,” and the plan outlines coordinated federal actions that can “increase the speed and scale with which these solutions are deployed,” officials said.

Such solutions include funding research and development to develop lower-cost technologies, aiding and financing the development and implementation of emissions-reducing building codes and appliance standards, and expanding markets for low-carbon technologies.

The DOE also noted it is focused on building innovations in three pivotal areas: building upgrades, efficient electrification, and smart controls.

Traffic moves along the Interstate 76 highway in Philadelphia, on March 31, 2021.  Matt Rourke/AP Photo

Biden Moving to Slash Emissions

Additionally, the blueprint aims to address household “inequities,” with the department noting economically disadvantaged communities are more likely to face energy insecurity due to soaring energy costs, as well as health issues due to substandard building conditions.

“The Blueprint sets three cross-cutting goals of equity, affordability, and resilience to ensure that the low-carbon buildings transition benefits disadvantaged communities, reduces energy costs, and increases the ability of communities to withstand stresses,” the DOE noted.

The blueprint comes as the Biden administration is pushing on with its goal of slashing carbon emissions in half by 2030.

In December 2022, the White House announced plans to cut energy use and electrify equipment and appliances in 30 percent of the building space owned by the Federal government by 2030.

Elsewhere, climate disclosure rules by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are not yet finalized, would require publicly traded companies to disclose how much carbon dioxide is emitted by their operations, although the measures are currently facing legal challenges in dozens of states.

The administration has also been pushing to require states to measure and report the greenhouse gas emissions from any vehicles using the national highway system, although that rule was struck down by a Texas judge on March 28.

In his ruling, Judge James Hendrix of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas agreed with the state that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) lacked legal authority from Congress to enact the rule and that it violates the Administrative Procedure Act.

The department is currently reviewing that rule and determining its next steps.