If CA stops new construction norms, it risks climate progress | Opinion

By David Cohen and Vicky Veenker, special for Calmatters

This comment was originally published by CalmattersS Register about their ballots.

With the devastating planets in Los Angeles, which are still fresh in memory, cities in the Bay area are developing plans to reduce climate emissions that rob the flames.

But now a dangerous new bill threatens this progress. AB 306Although it is believed that it will deal with the fall out of this year’s fires, it may actually increase the risk of future fires and pause local progress to deal with other climate disasters.

This week, the provisions of the AB 306 were placed on the quick route of approval, as state leaders transferred the contents of the bill to a Budget trailer – A process that will make it admissible for approval until midnight on Monday.

While some narrow exceptions were added, the measure would still have Prohibit most local authorities Since the adoption of stronger construction standards that promote energy efficiency to 2031, this greatly restricts improvements for six years – even when climate disasters strengthen and develop technologies – and circumvent local control and normal legislative process in the state senate.

We know firsthand how much mistake it would be. In San Jose and Palo Alto, we have proven that intelligent construction standards are one of our country’s best instruments to increase climate resilience, reduce pollution, reduce energy bills and public health protection.

In 2019, the municipal councils of San Jose and Palo Alto approved codes that reduce development costs by engaging in electrification while reducing expensive and often unnecessary gas jumps. This – combined with additional stimuli for solar panels and charging devices for electric vehicles in San Jose and for home appliances in Palo Alto – creates more clean air and reduces emissions, all without breaking the bank.

Thousands of residents of Palo Alto and San Jose are now enjoying lower energy costs and healthier air quality thanks to their entirely electric homes.

Throughout the country, cities follow the leadership of San Jose and Palo Alto, developing construction standards that are in line with the needs of each community. Local challenges, such as increasing sea levels, housing shortages or fire risks, are often best addressed with locally designed solutions.

The proposed measure in the budget trailer bill puts this progress at risk.

Proponents say this will help the victims of a fire recover accessible. The evidence says otherwise. Numerous studies confirm that “there is no clear correlation between energy code updates and increasing home prices.”

If anything, the code pause updates would impair the California accessibility crisis. The new energy standards have saved Californians more than 100 billion dollars for utility services over the past 50 yearsand the next update is expected to save Another $ 4.8 billionS

The cities we represent and others in California deserve to take advantage of these proven savings, but now they run the risk of stuck with outdated energy deforestation devices.

Energy-efficient homes are not just cheaper to live, they are also cheaper to build. As we have seen from our successes in our cities, construction with effective electrical appliances can save up to $ 10,000 per unit, eliminating the need for gas infrastructure.

The pause of the Construction Code will also pause this healthy progress by taking control from local cities without making housing more accessible.

Here is the cruel irony: this option for “fire restoration” can worsen future fires. By blocking local clean energy policies that reduce climate pollution pollution and elimination of flexibility communities to update codes based on progress in technology, the proposed change leaves us more vulnerable to the next disaster.

Legislators need to empower communities to be agile in response to new technologies and to explore localized solutions that promote efficiency and accessibility. Cutting the pollution and facilitating housing can exist jointly.

This article was Originally Published on CalMatters and was reissued under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Noderivatives License.