ANNAPOLIS, MD—Together with Ali Zaidi, National Climate Advisor to Joe Biden, Governor Wes Moore recently announced that Maryland will join the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Building Performance Standards Coalition. The announcement occurred during a visit to Requity Foundation’s Carver House project in West Baltimore, a community-based model for workforce development where high school trade students are gaining hands-on net-zero construction training by retrofitting a vacant rowhouse into an affordable netzero home.
“Maryland is moving fast and moving in partnership with our local and federal officials to achieve the full potential of our climate and equity goals,” said Gov. Moore. “We are thrilled to join the Biden Administration’s National Building Performance Standards Coalition, which will help fuel job creation, create economic growth, reduce energy costs, and align health, energy, and housing needs in communities across the state.”
“President Biden’s climate and economic agenda is spurring job creation and equitable growth all across America. We are thrilled to welcome Maryland into the President’s Building Performance Standards Coalition, a step that will further accelerate our progress,” said Zaidi. “Today, we saw that progress up close: Governor Moore and I got to meet young people who are training for careers in a growing clean energy economy that is revitalizing neighborhoods and changing lives. It’s inspiring. It’s Bidenomics in action.”
Building performance standards policies align emissions reductions, electrification, and equity goals. The National Building Performance Standards Coalition is a nationwide group of state and local governments that have committed to design and implement building performance programs. Launched by President Biden in 2022, the coalition will help deliver better buildings for 74 million people while eliminating an estimated 624 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
Maryland is one of only three states with statewide building performance standards. The state will require commercial and multifamily buildings that are 35,000 square feet and larger to reduce direct emissions by 20% by 2030 and reach net zero direct emissions by 2040. Maryland has committed to reducing overall greenhouse gas emissions by 60% by 2031 and reaching net zero statewide emissions by 2045—among the most ambitious goals of any state.
Requity Foundation is a Baltimore-based nonprofit that provides vocational education and workforce development through learning initiatives focused on building community wealth and fighting climate change. Requity is working with the Career and Technical Education Department of Baltimore City Public Schools and Carver Vocational-Technical High School to augment existing vocational education with an interdisciplinary, energy-efficient building construction learning experience.
