TL;DR: The Sierra Club joined NRDC, the Colorado Solar and Storage Association, and the Coalition for Community Solar Access in seeking to defend Colorado’s building performance standards in a legal challenge brought by groups representing corporate landlords this June.
In 2021, after finding that the energy used in large buildings was the city’s largest source of climate pollution, the Denver City Council passed an ordinance to develop performance standards for buildings over 25,000 square feet, appropriately named Energize Denver. Colorado followed suit by enacting statewide building performance standards in 2023.
Building performance standards work by requiring large commercial and apartment buildings to gradually reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through measures like weatherization and energy efficiency improvements. They are a powerful policy tool in addressing a significant source of both greenhouse gases and health-harming pollution, as well as reducing renters’ bills by conserving energy.
Energize Denver is vital to the city's climate leadership. It targets buildings responsible for nearly half of Denver's carbon emissions. Beyond that, Energize Denver will strengthen community health and improve air quality, both indoors and out. The Sierra Club served on the task force that helped develop Energize Denver, and now, we’re taking a stand to uphold both Denver and Colorado’s standards.
A Flimsy Lawsuit from Corporate Landlords
This past April, a group of trade associations representing landlords, hotels, and commercial real estate developers filed a lawsuit against the state and Denver’s building performance standards. Their legal case is shaky at best, relying on an argument that the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) prevents the city and state from enforcing their building performance standards. Read more about why this challenge doesn’t hold up here.
The EPCA, initially enacted in 1975, creates efficiency standards for certain appliances, including stoves, water heaters, and furnaces. The law also overrides state and local efficiency standards for these appliances. It does not regulate entire buildings, which is just one reason why the building performance standards aren’t covered under this law.
Immediately, a broad coalition of environmental groups came out to condemn the lawsuit and defend Energize Denver. Read the coalition’s press release here.
In response to this lawsuit, the Sierra Club joined forces with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Colorado Solar and Storage Association (COSSA), and the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA) in seeking to intervene in the lawsuit to defend these crucial Building Performance Standards. This coalition demonstrates the broad support for clean building policies in Colorado, ranging from Sierra Club members who are renters that will benefit from energy-saving measures under the standards, to clean energy businesses whose employees will help buildings reduce their energy use and emissions.
Coloradans Support Climate Action and Deserve Clean Air
Most Colorado and Denver residents support decisive climate action by their government. It makes sense when you consider what Colorado communities, especially urban areas on the front range like Denver, are dealing with. Persistently unhealthy air quality has put Front Range communities in “Severe” nonattainment of federal air quality standards and given them an “F” grade in the American Lung Association’s 2024 State of the Air Report.
The number of extreme heat days has increased by 19 days, and the average summer temperature has climbed by over three degrees since 1975. Climate change is creating hotter, drier, and more dangerous conditions for Colorado communities, making standards like Energize Denver crucial for meeting our climate action goals. This lawsuit’s attempt to overturn the state and city standards would hinder climate progress achieved by Denver's government, communities, and businesses and negatively impact the environment and the people who live and work in Colorado’s buildings.
What Comes Next
In the coming weeks, the court will decide whether to grant the Sierra Club’s request to intervene. We also filed a motion making legal arguments that the case should be dismissed without even reaching the merits. If our intervention is granted, the court will consider this motion, along with motions to dismiss filed by the state and city defendants.