Bidens’ newest climate aim: Greener homes?

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May 28, 2024 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell The Biden administration is considering whether to require strict energy codes for new homes. | Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images The Biden administration is eyeing its next target for a climate makeover — the U.S. housing market. A policy that could win approval within weeks would ensure that most new houses are built with efficient heating and cooling systems, writes Thomas Frank. The move could help carve a sizable dent in the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions and make the homes cheaper for residents to operate. But it could also add at least thousands of dollars to the homes’ purchase price — worsening a major pain point already souring many Americans on the economy. Residential and commercial buildings are responsible for 31 percent of the country’s planet-warming pollution, from sources such as heating and cooling, electricity use and food waste, according to an Environmental Protection Agency analysis. The federal mandate would require new homes bought with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac — in other words, most homes — to conform to the latest international standards for energy efficiency. Many U.S. homebuilders now use standards that are over a decade old and have weaker requirements for insulation, lighting, heating and cooling. Homebuilders oppose the proposal, saying the policy could increase the cost of new houses and deter potential buyers. (As if today’s interest rates aren’t deterrent enough.) But proponents say the federal mandate would save homeowners thousands of dollars in energy bills, not to mention reduce atmospheric pollution. And when it comes to sky-high housing costs boxing most young people out of the market, the costs of meeting energy efficiency standards may be the least of buyers’ and renters’ worries compared with inflation, supply shortages and high mortgage rates. An analysis by the Department of Housing and Urban Development found the proposed policy would add $7,200 to the average price of a new home but would cut energy costs by nearly $1,000 a year. The average home price in the U.S. was $495,100 in 2023, according to the Census Bureau. History offers some precedent for home builders meeting tougher government mandates while building for the mass market: Florida adopted strict hurricane codes decades ago requiring homes to be better able to withstand powerful storms.   It's Tuesday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net. Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Catherine Morehouse speaks with Pablo Vegas, the chief operator of Texas' electric grid, about how the state is preparing for extreme weather and recent partisan fighting over the system. Power Centers President Joe Biden speaks during an Earth Day event April 22 in Triangle, Virginia. | Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Climate policy under Biden 2.0? A second term for President Joe Biden could include efforts to cut the carbon emissions of cement; turn electric vehicles into mini power plants; make cow burps less potent; upgrade transmission lines; and plant more trees in cities, writes Scott Waldman. According to former administration officials who helped craft the climate agenda of Biden's first term, a second-term Biden would likely focus on climate solutions that could take decades to play out — but are still necessary to cut emissions. Trump 2.0 threatens pipeline methane rule The Biden administration has pushed back its timeline for finishing a rule cracking down on pipeline leaks until next year, leaving it more vulnerable if former President Donald Trump returns to the White House, writes Mike Soraghan. Supporters of the leak detection and repair proposal had been pushing for its release this summer, though they privately expected it to be closer to the end of the year. The 'Schilling affair:' Austria's Greens in shambles Austria's Green party bet big on Lena Schilling, a 23-year-old climate activist for their European Parliament campaign, hoping to recreate the “green wave” of youth votes that buoyed its electoral fortunes in 2019, writes Zia Weise. Less than two weeks before polls open, however, that strategy lies in tatters. The party has stumbled from one communications disaster to the next. In Other News Refugee crisis: Brazilian floods produced hundreds of thousands of climate refugees. Electric future: The slowdown in U.S. electric vehicle sales looks more like a blip. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. An energy storage facility in Texas is shown. | Portland General Electric Co. The boom in batteries on the Texas grid is freeing up backup natural gas generators to run more frequently to meet the state’s growing electricity demand. Florida is set to green-light an oil company's request to sink a 14,000-foot well into the Apalachicola River floodplain about 30 miles north of the small shellfishing community and its imperiled estuary. The Biden administration is coalescing around broad guardrails for carbon offsets to help the much-criticized voluntary markets achieve their intended emission reductions. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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