International Code Council Nixes ‘Aggressive’ Climate Provisions For New Homes

The “aggressive” new climate provisions for new construction homes were so saddled with opposition and criticisms that the “green” pushers at Washington D.C.’s International Code Council (ICC) were forced to strike them from the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code. [emphasis, links added]

Here’s how Thomas Catenacci at Fox News reported the development:

The International Code Council (ICC) – a Washington, D.C.-based group that regularly issues more than a dozen codes regulating new construction and impacting tens of millions of people nationwide – recently announced that its board of directors ultimately rejected climate provisions that industry experts argued would lead to higher costs.

Among the directives eliminated from the final document included a mandate that any new construction of “one- and two-family dwellings and townhouses” would be required to “install electrical infrastructure” for electric vehicle at-home charging capabilities; install only-electric appliances (eliminating gas heating and stoves); and lastly, have the necessary wiring for solar panel systems.

(Yes, even in the very rainy Pacific Northwest, where houses are already unaffordable and sunny days are very infrequent, new homes must have solar panel wiring—totally and utterly asinine.)

Now, the ICC board of directors only backtracked on some of its most “aggressive” climate provisions because they faced too much opposition at this point; in early January, the American Gas Association filed an appeal with the ICC against the first draft, a response replicated by other energy industry groups, notably the Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI).

So, don’t let any ostensible backtracking lull you into thinking these bureaucrats will accept the defeat and let us live in peace with our trivial modern amenities and false sense of “freedom,” because they’re not going gently into that good night; also via Catenacci:

‘The IECC, (like all the International Codes) is a model code, the adoption and amendment of which is at the option of state and local governments,’ ICC Senior Vice President of Government Relations Gabe Maser told Fox News Digital in a statement.

‘This inherent flexibility, combined with the menu of choices the latest IECC provides, allows local governments the ability to determine the best ways to address the goals of their unique communities.’

The Biden administration has separately announced that it would divert $1 billion in grants earmarked under the Inflation Reduction Act to help more jurisdictions implement the ICC’s IECC.

Gas and oil industries produce tax dollars, and those tax dollars produce wind and solar energy; kinda weird how all that “cheap” and affordable energy is just guzzling down our hard-earned money to the tune of billions.

Read more at American Thinker