The Department of Energy is scrapping a Biden-era “zero emissions” building standard, adding to Trump administration efforts to reverse initiatives aiming to address climate change.
In a Federal Register notice Wednesday, DOE said the definition is “not consistent with current administration priorities” and urged states, cities and organizations to no longer use it.
“The interaction of America’s 130 million buildings with our energy system should not be further complicated by arbitrary and imprecise federal guidance,” Lou Hrkman, principal deputy assistant secretary for critical minerals and energy innovation, said in a statement.
DOE removed the definition from its website and said it would no longer provide technical assistance on the issue. The newly created Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation said in a statement the decision would promote “freedom of choice” and “relieve developers, investors, and building owners of indirect pressure to account for federal guidelines that never had the force or effect of law.”
