This is a really good time for members of the AIA COTE Knowledge Community to be in touch with their US Senators. Like right now.
The Build Back Better Act (BBBA) was passed by the House of Representatives and is – as of his writing – being debated in the US Senate. This bill may be the last chance this Congress has to take the most meaningful and comprehensive action on the climate crisis that our national government has considered to date. The bill’s provisions are still in flux so all of this is contingent, but at last look the top line of almost $550 billion in climate-specific provisions includes $300B in tax incentives for wind and solar power, upgrades to the US power distribution grid, electric vehicle charging stations, and – of special note to AIA members – incentive funding US states to support the adoption of the latest building codes, zero-energy “stretch” codes, and hazard-resistance design standards used by FEMA. The bill also contains housing energy efficiency grants and rebates, environmental justice block grants, and the creation of a national service program in climate resilience.
Contact your US Senator now. They need to know that architects support the Build Back Better Act.
And while we’re at it, let’s have a round of applause for President’s Executive Order 14057, “Catalyzing America’s Clean Energy Economy Through Federal Sustainability”. This EO uses the scale and the buying power of the entire US federal government to achieve ambitious goals such as net-zero emissions from federal procurement no later than 2050 including the launch of a “Buy Clean” policy to promote use of lower-carbon construction materials, and an entire federal government net-zero emissions building portfolio by 2045, including a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from buildings by 2032. This sends a very clear market signal that the United Stated government intends to comply with the carbon-reduction goals it committed to at COP26.