In The News

D.C.’s Climate Change Response Is In The Hands Of An Obscure, Unelected Commission

Three individuals appointed by the mayor (and not directly accountable to voters) could stand in the way of the city meeting its climate goals, or they could push the District to take aggressive climate action, according to environmentalists and lawmakers who are urging the D.C. Public Service Commission to take a more proactive role in fighting climate change and cutting greenhouse gas emissions….

Mayor’s Budget Proposal Would Zero Out DOEE Funding for Key Challenges

Bowser’s proposal included a 14% reduction to the Department of Energy and Environment’s (DOEE) operating budget. Environmental and public health advocates, along with Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), who chairs the Committee on Transportation and the Environment, say the proposed cuts would harm D.C.’s most vulnerable residents and throw the city off-track to meet its climate goals….

D.C. Resident’s Fight To Fix Gas Leaks Amplifies Calls for Electrification

A DC resident endured months of frustration in a largely fruitless effort to get reliable assistance from Washington Gas to address more than 13 gas leaks in her condo building that caused her stomach and lower back pains, trouble sleeping, nausea, and headaches – in addition to a $40,000 repair job….

Lobbyists for Washington Gas Tried to Neuter a Major Clean Energy Bill. They Failed.

Much of the news Loose Lips follows out of the Wilson Building adheres to a similar, depressing pattern: Big corporate interests tell D.C. officials to jump, and they respond: “How high?” So it’s worth pausing to examine one of the rare exceptions that proves the rule. Namely, Washington Gas had a chance to neuter a big piece of climate legislation as the Council wrapped up its final legislative session of 2022. But for once, the utility company (long one of the most influential businesses in the District) didn’t get its way….

National Tensions Heat Up Over Gas Stove Regulations

The conversation about gas stoves erupted suddenly on the national level, but locally, community organizers and city officials had already begun focusing attention on the appliances. Decades of evidence link gas stove use, which emits nitrogen dioxide and other gasses, to childhood asthma. That has particular significance in the District, where almost 16,000 children and adolescents had asthma in 2020, more than 70% of whom were Black. …

D.C.’s Ambitious Climate Law is Still Underway, Despite Hesitation from Construction Code Board

The proposal in question is a new building code that would achieve the energy standard laid out by the District’s Clean Energy DC Omnibus Act Of 2018, the strongest climate law ever passed by a U.S. city. As part of the District’s incremental approach to meeting its ambitious commitments, the D.C. Council voted to require all newly constructed or substantially renovated buildings to be developed to a net-zero energy standard by 2026. And CCCB was charged with establishing the new codes. …

D.C. Council’s Next Climate Moves — And Why They Might Matter for Equity in the District

This summer, the D.C. Council passed two major bills aimed at reducing the city’s emissions and leading the nation on tackling climate change. Two more environmental bills, introduced last month by Ward 6 Council member Charles Allen (D) and several colleagues, seem aimed at continuing the momentum. One proposal envisions providing 30,000 low-income households with electric home appliances to replace gas-burning stoves and heaters, installed at no cost to the resident, by 2040. The other seeks to get 7,500 public electric vehicle charging stations up and running in the District by 2027. Currently, D.C. has around 250 public chargers….

New Bill Would Replace Natural Gas Appliances In Low-Income Homes

DC Councilmember Charles Allen is introducing legislation with a goal to retrofit 30,000 low-income homes in D.C. with induction stoves, heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, and other highly efficient electric appliances for free. The legislation, he says, would cut greenhouse gas emissions by phasing out fossil fuels in existing buildings, while at the same time making the air people breathe at home a lot cleaner….

Inflation Reduction Act May Help D.C. Address Its Unequal Air Pollution

Rosa Lee and other Washington Interfaith Network advocates have been talking about switching to alternatives to gas as a way to both protect people’s health and reduce greenhouse gasses. Thanks to a massive climate and health care bill President Joe Biden signed into law last month, many low- and moderate-income homeowners across the city will soon have access to funding for electric appliances. …