Washington celebrated an exciting win this Earth Day when the Washington Building Codes Council passed groundbreaking building codes for new commercial and large multi-family buildings! Starting July 2023, new commercial and multi-family residential buildings will be required to be built with high-efficiency electric heat pumps for water and space heating. These codes are projected to cut more than 8 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2050, equivalent to the annual emissions of 1.8 million cars.
Earth Ministry/WAIPL submitted a letter of support with over 300 sign-ons from people of faith, joining the over 6,800 written comments submitted to the council and over 100 individuals testifying at public hearings. Our message shared in our sign on letter was that
Continued dependence on polluting fossil fuels, especially fracked gas, is not faithful. Enduring existence of fracked gas infrastructure in buildings will increase indoor air pollution and subsequent health risks, perpetuate reliance on dirty fossil fuels, promote more fracking (often on Indigenous lands,) and exacerbate a changing climate that disproportionately impacts those already on the margins. We have a moral obligation to address historic and enduring inequalities caused by pollution, many of which are crystallized in our fossil fuel infrastructure.
For years, people of faith across Washington have spoken out against new fossil fuel infrastructure, including proposed coal export terminals, increased oil-by-rail, expansion of existing fossil fuel facilities, and new fracked gas facilities. We have articulated and advocated for a clean and equitable future in which all life may thrive. Preventing more fossil fuels in our communities' buildings is a logical next step and a crucial need if we are to achieve our vision of a future that embodies environmental justice.
Our diverse religious traditions all teach us to love our neighbors, steward the Earth, and work for justice. In response, we are doing all we can to shift to clean energy in our houses of worship and homes. We need you to ensure all new commercial buildings and large multifamily homes in Washington complement our individual dedication to environmental stewardship and propel us toward our state's local and state-wide climate and sustainability goals. Together, we can create a future where no one's health or land is sacrificed to heat the places where we worship, shop, or live.
Clean, electric energy codes are increasingly being utilized as a central tool in cities and states across the country to reduce emissions, reduce maintenance and operational costs, prioritize public health and safety, and meet climate goals. Washington’s commercial code update adds to the wave of recent actions around the country including approximately 72 jurisdictions in 9 states that have adopted building electrification policies since 2019. Jurisdictions in Washington that have passed measures to support the transition to clean electric buildings include Seattle, Shoreline, Bellingham, Tacoma and Olympia.
In Washington State, homes and buildings have been the fastest-growing source of carbon pollution, up 50 percent since 1990, and cause a quarter of Washington’s climate pollution. Washington’s 2021 State Energy Strategy finds building electrification the most cost-effective approach to cutting carbon pollution in the building sector, and the commercial code update saw an outpouring of support from local building industry professionals, as well as from health care professionals and public health officials, air quality and equity advocates, businesses, labor unions, affordable housing groups, faith leaders and environment and climate advocates. For more on building electrification efforts in Washington, visit BuildElectricWA.org.
You can read more about this exciting win here.
