CSBE
Dec. 2, 2018
On Friday, Nov. 23, the federal government
released
its latest National Climate Assessment, painting a dire picture of the impacts of climate change on the planet and its inhabitants.
The nearly 1,700-page report touches frequently upon buildings, infrastructure and communities – particularly urban areas. And while much of the news is not good, there are bright spots.
CSBE runs down eight big takeaways from the report and its reception about the intersection of climate change and the built environment.
More . . .
Nov. 26, 2018
A small group of Democratic and Republican House members plans to introduce a carbon tax bill this week, the first bipartisan climate legislation in a decade.
While it has virtually no chance of moving during the lame-duck session of Congress, the bill could be a starting point for climate legislation after Democrats assume House control in January.
According to a bill summary obtained by Bloomberg Environment, the measure would apply a $15-per-metric-ton carbon fee to the U.S. oil, gas, and coal industries, but rebate all of the revenue as a dividend to households to shield them from increased fossil fuel costs related to the carbon fee.
More...
Bloomberg
Nov. 29, 2018
A Congressional deadlock over flood insurance highlights the difficulty of enacting the type of reforms urged last week in a U.S. government report on climate change -- even for Democrats, who embraced the report’s findings.
The heavily indebted
National Flood Insurance Program
, which provides subsidized coverage for homes in flood-prone areas, is scheduled to expire at midnight on Friday after months of debate over long-term changes. Both the House and Senate passed a one-week extension on Thursday night. That extension must now be signed by President Donald Trump.
More...
Energy Department Announces New Tools Targeting Home Energy Savings
Dept. of Energy
Nov. 27, 2018
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced new tools designed to improve energy savings in homes as a result of the completion of two Better Buildings Accelerators – the Home Energy Information Accelerator and Home Upgrade Program Accelerator. The Department is also recognizing dozens of Better Buildings Accelerator partners that contributed to these solutions.
The
Home Energy Information Accelerator
sought to expand the availability of reliable energy information to ensure consumers have access to energy cost information. Since 2015, Accelerator partners have provided training on home energy information to roughly 7,500 real estate professionals including REALTORS®, appraisers, brokers, and lenders. As a capstone resource, DOE developed the
Home Energy Information Accelerator Toolkit
for residential efficiency stakeholders to find examples and best practices learned by Accelerator partners.
The
Home Upgrade Program Accelerator
leveraged data management strategies to reduce costs and expand services of home energy upgrade programs nationwide. Five Accelerator partners completed improvements to streamline data management processes that demonstrated reduced program costs for their home energy upgrade programs.
NEW IN CONGRESS
Sponsor: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
Latest Action: Approved by House Nov. 27, 2018; bill now goes to President.
H.R.7173: Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2018
Sponsor. Rep. Ted Deutsch (D-FL)
Introduced: Nov. 27, 2018
Sponsor: Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND)
Latest Action: Committee hearing held Nov. 29, 2018. (
Watch video
)
Sponsor: Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
Latest Action: Committee hearing held Nov. 29, 2018. (
Watch video
)
Sponsor: Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)
Latest Action: Committee hearing held Nov. 29, 2018. (
Watch video
)
AGENCY ACTION
EPA
Nov. 30, 2018
In this action, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is soliciting comment on several aspects of the 2015 Standards of Performance for New Residential Wood Heaters, New Residential Hydronic Heaters and Forced-Air Furnaces (2015 NSPS) in order to inform future rulemaking to improve these standards and related test methods. This action does not propose any changes to the 2015 NSPS, but does take comment on a number of aspects of the rule, including the compliance date for the Step 2 emission limits, Step 2 emission limits for forced-air furnaces, hydronic heaters and wood heaters, Step 2 emission limits based on weighted averages versus individual burn rates, transitioning to cord wood certification test methods, compliance audit testing, third-party review, electronic reporting tool, and warranty requirements.
EPA
Nov. 30 2018
In this action, the EPA proposes to amend the 2015 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for new residential hydronic heaters and new forced-air furnaces by adding a two-year “sell-through” period for all affected new hydronic heaters and forced-air furnaces that are manufactured or imported before the May 2020 compliance date to be sold at retail through May 2022. This will allow retailers additional time, after the May 2020 effective date of the “Step 2” standards, for the sale of “Step 1” compliant hydronic heaters and forced-air furnaces remaining in inventory. The EPA is also taking comment on whether a sell-through period for all affected new residential wood heaters is appropriate following the May 2020 compliance date and, if so, how long a sell-through period is needed and why. In addition, this action is taking comment on whether the current minimum pellet fuel requirements should be retained and, if so, whether they should be revised.
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