All Gassed Up

This Week's Trend In Brief:

• Last week, the Biden Administration quietly announced updated building standards for new single and multifamily homes to ensure families never “find themselves making hard choices about whether to heat their home in winter or use cooling during a heat.”
   

• Although the Administration framed the rules as a way to lower costs for residents, environmental groups said the quiet part out loud, hailing the rules as “a giant leap toward cleaner federal buildings” that “will cut fossil fuel use by 90% within 5 years.”
   

• Indeed, Administration officials have acknowledged the new rules are aimed at “reducing carbon emissions that lead to climate change,” despite lengthy efforts from The White House to claim they are not trying to restrict American’s gas appliances.
   

• While previous building decarbonization attempts were met with fiery opposition, these latest steps show how the Administration woks with environmental allies to leverage arcane rulemakings to take action below the radar.
   

• With environmental groups already promoting the new rules as a template for state and local policymakers, companies must have the right monitoring systems in place to identify subtle rule changes intended to undermine their ability to deliver affordable, reliable energy to their consumers and respond proactively to ensure consumer and voters are fully educated about how new restrictions on market choices impact their interests. 

Digging Deeper:

 
Last week, the Biden Administration quietly announced updated building standards for new single and multifamily homes they claimed would ensure families never “find themselves making hard choices about whether to heat their home in winter or use cooling during a heat.” Adopted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the rules promise to “make homes more resilient to extreme weather, physically durable, and improve efficiency to operate.” The agencies also hailed the rules as a “proven [way] to save lives in extreme heat and cold, especially during a power outage.” Energy efficiency industry groups celebrated the new building standards, and so did environmental advocates.
 
While the Biden Administration framed the rules as a way to lower costs for residents, environmental groups lauded the new building standards as a means to “achieve long-term reductions in carbon emissions.” The Sierra Club called the standards “the first meaningful update to building codes for federally-supported housing” since agencies were tasked with updating energy efficiency standards in 2007. Decarbonization advocacy group RMI, which has called for removing natural gas from buildings for years, celebrated the new standards, claiming they “will impact up to a quarter of all new homes nationwide and will cut energy bills by up to a third.” The U.S. Green Building Council argued the standards will reduce “greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution” and “improve a lot of people’s lives.” Even as some industry groups slammed the standards as “a mandate” that was “rammed through” by the Administration “without adequate review and consideration of how it will affect home buyers or renters,” RMI is already arguing states and cities across the U.S. should use them as a template to “raise the bar and save energy for affordable homes.”
 
Indeed, Administration officials acknowledged these new building standards are aimed at “reducing carbon emissions that lead to climate change” despite widespread opposition to measures targeting gas use in homes. The new rules undermine the Biden Administration’s insistence it had no plans to regulate gas appliances. After Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) member Richard Trumka Jr. suggested a ban on gas stoves last year, CPSC Chairman Alexander Hoehn-Saric reassured the public the commission had no plans to ban gas stoves. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made it “very clear” the President does not support banning gas stoves. The fact-checking apparatus at media outlet after outlet declared President Biden was not “coming for your gas stove” and that the uproar was caused by Republicans as part of the right-wing culture wars. However, as we noted at the time and these new standards display, amping up restrictions on gas in homes was, and is, very much a part of the Administration’s climate strategy, one that has long been supported by climate activists.
 
While previous building decarbonization attempts were met with fiery opposition, these latest steps show how the Administration works with environmental allies to leverage arcane rulemakings to take action below the radar. When Trumka floated the idea of banning gas stoves, bipartisan policymakers ranging from Senate Energy Chairman Joe Manchin (D-WV) to House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) immediately panned the proposal, with Manchin calling it a “recipe for disaster” and Rodgers deeming it part of Biden’s “war on American energy.” Others noted polling shows a majority of Americans oppose eradicating natural gas from buildings. Now, environmental groups with unprecedented access to The White House and politically appointed regulators with the policy know-how to advance their agenda allows them to find under the radar avenues to implement their preferred policies. From executive action and FERC rules to other processes like gerrymandering, an increasingly sophisticated and professionally organized set of climate activists has more resources and tools than ever to apply pressure at every level of government. 
 
While environmental groups promote the rules as a template for policymakers across the country, companies need to thoughtfully engage both consumers and policymakers on their implications. As we have long noted, climate activism is becoming increasingly professionalized, and advocates working to influence policy have secured intimate relationships and knowledge of the regulators making that policy. In the face of relentless scrutiny and pressure on industry from activists, it is essential to understand the evolving landscape and all the stakeholders involved in the decision-making process. Public affairs professionals and the companies they represent must anticipate how this narrative is shaped, what it will take to navigate the debate, and be prepared with the facts necessary to defend their operations and consumer choice.

Trends in Energy is your weekly look at key trends affecting the energy industry, brought to you by the competitive intelligence experts at Delve. As the political and regulatory landscape continues to shift, reach out to learn how our insights can help you navigate these challenges.

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