Beyond Gas Bans: Expanding Local Strategies for Building Decarbonization and Energy Efficiency

At the federal level, opportunities and incentives to decarbonize buildings expanded in 2022 due to the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.  However, many municipalities have seen their powers to steer building decarbonization curtailed in recent years. Notably, between 2020 and 2021, 20 states passed laws that limited local governments’ authority to regulate the installation or use of natural gas infrastructure, in the wake of the Berkeley, California’s pioneering 2019 ordinance banning the installation of natural gas infrastructure in most new buildings.

Join the Guarini Center for a conversation with building decarbonization experts to discuss climate- and public health-related policy options that municipalities and their partners can deploy to advance building decarbonization and energy efficiency, despite these state-level laws restricting local governments’ ability to manage natural gas infrastructure. This event will coincide with the Center’s publication of a new policy brief, Beyond Gas Bans: Alternative Pathways to Reduce Building Emissions in Light of State Preemption Laws.

PANELISTS

Alejandra Mejia Cunningham, Building Decarbonization Advocate, Climate & Clean Energy Program, NRDC

Justin Gundlach, Senior New York Regulatory Policy Manager, Building Decarbonization Coalition

Katrina Managan, Director of Buildings & Homes, Office of Climate Action, Sustainability, & Resiliency, City & County of Denver

Yu Ann Tan, Senior Associate, Carbon-Free Buildings, RMI

MODERATOR

Nathaniel Mattison, Legal Fellow, Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy and Land Use Law

Register for the event here.

The Guarini Center’s work on this issue, including this event, is made possible by the generous support of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.