The Biden administration has made great progress updating appliance and equipment efficiency standards that reduce energy waste and save consumers and businesses money. Now it’s time to finish the job.
A year ago, the administration projected that standards completed this term would save nearly $1 trillion and cut climate change emissions by 2.5 billion metric tons over 30 years. Since then, the Department of Energy (DOE) has completed new standards for water heaters, clothes dryers, and rooftop air conditioners, among other products. The agency has repeated the targets but has not provided an accounting of its progress, a gap we’re filling here.
Based on DOE’s various rulemaking analyses, we calculate that the Biden administration is about 85% of the way to meeting the projection for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Standards already completed this term will reduce emissions by 2.1 billion metric tons. While we were not able to calculate a corresponding figure for the progress on cost savings, it is likely in the same 85% ballpark—hundreds of billions of dollars. In other words, the administration has made tremendous progress but still has work to do.
The good news is rules that could more than fill the gap are in the White House’s hands, and it can give DOE the green light to finalize them. These standards are waiting at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), which conducts final reviews before rules are published; OIRA received many of these rules from DOE months ago.

Para leer más ingrese a: