Committee on the Environment

AIA’s delegation to the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow is working to amplify the profession’s voice and magnify our impact in the battle against climate change through leveraging existing partnerships and creating new global connections. While we’re there, the wheels of domestic government continue to turn – albeit slowly. As chair of COTE’s Advocacy subcommittee and the AIA Board of Directors’ Government Advocacy Committee (GAC), I would like to offer my opinion on why we should remain optimistic that the 117th US Congress and the Biden Administration may yet pass meaningful climate action legislation. 

1. Climate action legislation is complicated, spanning the legislative authorities of many different House and Senate Committees. Multiple House and Senate committees have hands in this package. All committees in both branches of Congress need to do their work. The process must play itself out – and it will. Too many people in Washington, DC have invested too much time and energy to end the year without getting to some form of resolution.

2. We knew at the beginning of the year that the majority party had a narrow margin in both branches of Congress, and that each Senator had the power to wield outsized influence. Yes, it’s disheartening to hear that the Clean Energy Performance Program – a national mandate for carbon-free utility portfolio standards – might not survive in the 50/50 Senate. But other measures like expanded tax credits for renewable power generation, upgrades to the nation’s power distribution grid, and better infrastructure for electric vehicle charging stations are still on the many tables.

3. The press will always focus on conflicts. Don’t be distracted by what is often a sideshow. Power struggles, intra-party discord, demands and ultimatums make news . . . but not legislation. The disagreement and acrimony over the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the Affordable Care Act of 2010 was no less intense. Both of those landmark acts faced fierce opposition and were in debate for many months before they were signed into law. In both cases, the public interest was ultimately served. 

Meanwhile, while all this legislative sausage-making unfolds, the American Institute of Architects has its eyes firmly on the long-term prize. Climate action has finally moved from a fringe concern of the US government to one of our foremost issues, and the AIA’s Government Advocacy staff are committed to making the case that decarbonizing the building sector is a vital part of the climate change solution. The 117th US Congress is unlikely to deliver everything that’s on our advocacy agenda. So we do what we can in 2021, focus on the mid-term elections, and keep – optimistically – going.