(G10) Multifamily Zero Carbon Action Plan for New Construction: Creating Carbon Neutral, Resilient, Affordable Housing in California

The housing crisis in the State is leaving hundreds of thousands unsheltered and millions more with high rent burdens, threatening low-income communities, who are disproportionately people of color. Meanwhile, the climate crisis further threatens Californians, causing wildfires, dangerous air quality, and power shut-offs. This session will cover the opportunity to promote equity in the state by addressing these dual crises and providing a roadmap to transform the new construction multifamily market to be affordable, zero carbon, and resilient.

This session will present an innovative and far-reaching plan for transforming the new multifamily market to be zero carbon by 2035, resulting in healthy, comfortable, and affordable homes. The session covers the Multifamily Zero Carbon Action Plan, developed under the guidance of the CPUC, which will inform the statewide utility’s new construction program and help shape future California Energy Codes (Title 24 part 6). Central to the Plan and the presentation is the drive to identify and support deeper energy efficiency practices than are currently utilized and to encourage market actors to go beyond code to zero carbon with the integration of ultra-efficient Passive House approaches into design and construction of new multifamily housing. Further, multifamily housing disproportionately serves low-income communities. The presentation will outline how an enhanced multifamily new construction program would promote equity by establishing multifamily buildings that provide these residents with durable sanctuary during extreme weather or loss of power, as well as ensuring that incentive funds are working to improve conditions in new multifamily projects. Additionally, in contrast to the majority of existing workforce education construction programs which focus on training contractors and builders, this presentation prioritizes strategies to ensure professional designers and architects have the proper knowledge and capabilities to advocate, design, and build cost-effective, all-electric, high-performing buildings. The presentation will also include methods to mitigate the financial and development challenges to creating zero carbon affordable housing, and will review opportunities to create a bridge for local governments to integrate zero carbon building elements into their building codes, ultimately preparing jurisdictions for future ultra-efficient Statewide building codes.