Full Title: Regulatory Solutions for Building Decarbonization
Author(s): Sherri Billimoria and Mike Henchen
Publisher(s): Rocky Mountain Institute
Publication Date: July 9, 2020
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
To meet the imperative of curbing climate change and restoring clean and healthy air to our communities, it is critical that policymakers act to eliminate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the building sector. In the United States, fossil fuels burned in residential and commercial buildings account for at least 600 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions per year—and far more when methane leakage is considered. Utilities, their regulators, and state policymakers together have an opportunity to eliminate these emissions and transform American homes and businesses to run on clean energy.
The old model of utility regulation is not conducive to an all-electric future and the scope of change needed is broad. To help inform that evolution, this report offers a framework for the comprehensive regulatory reforms required to transition to clean energy in the US building sector, along with more than 40 specific recommendations for action.