The Department of Energy announced a landmark plan Tuesday to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from buildings.
The blueprint aspires to cut emissions from homes, schools, businesses and offices 65 percent by 2035 and 90 percent by 2050. The plan, which was developed with EPA, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other federal agencies, also looks to save consumers $100 billion on annual energy bills and $17 billion in annual health costs.
“America’s building sector accounts for more than a third of the harmful emissions jeopardizing our air and health, but the Biden-Harris Administration has developed a forward-looking strategy to slash these pollutants from buildings across the nation,” DOE Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a press release.
Federal researchers identified four ways to reach the decarbonization goals — increasing energy efficiency, limiting the strain buildings pose on the electrical grid, minimizing emissions associated with construction materials and increasing use of electrification for heating.
