Public Health and Air Quality Professionals Call for an All-Electric Energy Code in the 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards (Docket No. 19-BSTD-03)
As a group of public health and air quality professionals, we appreciate the opportunity to comment on the California Energy Commission’s (CEC) 2022 Building Energy Efficiency Standards. Exposure to air pollution is now the greatest environmental health risk factor for early death, responsible for between 100,000 – 200,000 annual deaths. In the transport, industrial, and power generation sectors, regulation has dramatically decreased emissions. Conversely, the lack of regulation of the building sector has meant that buildings are now the leading cause of premature death from combustion emissions (particulate matter and ozone). Burning gas in buildings contributes to air pollution both indoors and outdoors. In designing its building energy efficiency standards for new construction, the CEC should safeguard the public health of Californians by adopting an all-electric energy code for the 2022 cycle.
