With Time Running Out To Cut Carbon From Buildings, Industry Just Tightened Its Grip

With Time Running Out To Cut Carbon From Buildings, Industry Just Tightened Its Grip

Buildings are huge generators of planet-warming gases, with fossil fuels responsible for everything from heating and cooling to cooking and charging our devices. Experts say a massive overhaul of building efficiency is imperative within the next decade to prevent catastrophic warming.

Building codes are updated every three years, and making those more aggressive is the most obvious way to make such an overhaul happen ― requiring things like energy-saving windows and chargers for electric vehicles, and eliminating natural gas-powered appliances. But as the private consortium that writes the codes that all 50 states adopt is preparing for the next round, it has given industries opposed to climate progress even more power over the process.

Last week, the International Code Council, a nonprofit made up of industry groups and local governments, named 93 people to its committees writing the 2024 codes for commercial and residential buildings. In a departure from past years, it gave industry groups the same representation as government officials.