For Immediate Release: December 7, 2022
SACRAMENTO – Today, California officials announced the state has joined the National Building Performance Standards Coalition, a White House-led initiative to accelerate building performance standards across the country. President Joe Biden launched the coalition in January, establishing a partnership of more than 30 state and local governments that will share results and best practices for delivering cleaner, healthier, and more affordable buildings while creating jobs, lowering costs, and prioritizing frontline communities.
The announcement was made during a White House press call to unveil the first-ever Federal Building Performance Standard, which will cut energy use and electrify equipment and appliances in 30 percent of the country’s 300,000 existing federal buildings by 2030.
State and local governments joining the coalition are committed to inclusively design and implement equitable building performance standards and complementary programs and policies through legislation or regulations.
“The state of California is once again leading by example, pledging to reduce carbon emissions from existing buildings across the state. Combined with the White House’s new Federal Building Performance Standard, nearly one-quarter of buildings nationwide will be more sustainable,” said Brenda Mallory, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “The Biden-Harris Administration is grateful for Governor Newsom and the California Energy Commission’s partnership in the fight to make America’s buildings more efficient, affordable, and resilient.”
“We are proud to be part of this effort as California increases its commitment to addressing the climate crisis with the Governor’s ambitious heat pump goal and a historic $54 billion budget investment including $1 billion for building energy improvements,” said California Energy Commission (CEC) Commissioner Andrew McAllister. "Through this new coalition, we look forward to sharing our experience and learning from others about policies and processes that can move the needle towards healthier buildings and a more sustainable future."
Because of their sheer number, buildings have significant impacts on indoor and outdoor air pollution and community health. Greenhouse gas emissions from buildings currently represent 35 percent of total energy-related emissions in the United States. Better building performance is needed for the nation to reach its goal of reducing emissions by 50 to 52 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.
California developed the nation’s first energy conservation standards for buildings and appliances in the 1970s. Since then, the state has continued to establish cost-effective standards and incentives that benefit consumers. California’s standards are adopted by other governments around the world.
Every three years, the CEC adopts forward-thinking and cost-effective building energy efficiency standards for new construction and substantial renovations through its Energy Code covering energy use, insulation, ventilation and more. Together with the coalition’s emphasis on upgrading existing buildings to achieve minimum levels of energy or climate performance, California will be able to decarbonize the building sector faster.
Federal agencies support the coalition partners with technical assistance and program funding with the U.S. Department of Energy helping set emissions reductions goals by using better data collection tools. The Environmental Protection Agency will also provide new tools that calculate localized greenhouse gas emissions to inform reporting, compliance, and assessment. Non-governmental and labor organizations will provide support in the areas of workforce engagement, equity strategies, localized policy design, and stakeholder engagement.
Learn more about the coalition at National Building Performance Standards Coalition.
The 2022 Energy Code goes into effect on January 1, 2023. Read more about the latest update at CEC 2022 Energy Code Update Summary | California Energy Commission.
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About the California Energy Commission
The California Energy Commission is leading the state to a 100 percent clean energy future. It has seven core responsibilities: developing renewable energy, transforming transportation, increasing energy efficiency, investing in energy innovation, advancing state energy policy, certifying thermal power plants, and preparing for energy emergencies.