Secret Deal Helped Housing Industry Stop Tougher Rules on Climate Change

A recent New York Times article describes a previously undisclosed agreement that has guaranteed industry representatives seats on two powerful committees that approve building codes that are widely adopted nationwide. The pact has enabled the industry group controlling the seats, the National Association of Home Builders, to prevent building code changes that would have made homes nationwide more energy efficient and resilient to floods, hurricanes, and other natural disasters.

The article states that "before the homebuilders gained seats on the committee that handles energy, for example, the energy efficiency of those building codes increased 32 percent over six years, according to a federal analysis. After the industry’s influence expanded, that number was less than 3 percent over the same amount of time."

Read the full article here.