PARIS - Last week, during the United Nations Buildings and Climate Forum in Paris, France, representatives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) shared information on its efforts to decarbonize and increase resiliency within its programs and housing portfolio, highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to energy efficiency, carbon reduction, and climate resilience and learned key insights into building climate resilient homes. Investing in energy efficiency measures, a top priority for the Biden-Harris Administration, not only helps tackle the climate crisis but also cuts energy costs, which is especially crucial for low-income Americans who suffer from high energy burdens, and makes homes more resilient to climate-fueled disasters.

At the conclusion of the conference, the United States delegation, led by HUD, joined a group of 70 countries to adopt the Declaration de Chaillot, a foundational document for international cooperation that will enable progress towards a rapid, fair, and effective transition of the building sector to zero emissions.

“There is a lot we can learn from governments and organizations across the world as we seek to build homes for the future,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “HUD represented the Biden-Harris Administration at the United Nations’ Buildings and Climate Forum and led the U.S. delegation’s effort to sign on to a historic climate declaration, building towards a more resilient, efficient, and sustainable future.”

The Buildings and Climate Global Forum, co-organized by France and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), gathered over 1,800 participants for the first time to initiate a new impetus in international collaboration for building decarbonization and resilience after the Conference of the Parties (COP) 28, held in December 2023 in Dubai.

HUD also sent a delegation to COP 28, led by then-Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, where the agency made key announcements on its work to build more resilient, sustainable, and efficient homes:

• HUD signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Department of Energy to work together on domestic efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the building sector and to cut costs for consumers through energy efficiency improvements.
• HUD launched its Energy and Water Benchmarking Service, available for properties participating in its Multifamily project-based rental assistance programs. This new, free service provides participating multifamily property owners with data on energy and water consumption at their properties, helping them identify opportunities for energy efficiency improvements that can benefit residents and promote green investments in individual properties or entire property portfolios.
• HUD became the 15th member of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), to guide and contribute to the U.S. government's scientific research on global climate change and ensure that state-of-the art research and data on climate change benefits the people and communities that HUD serves.
• Through implementation of its Climate Action Plan since October 2021, HUD has made significant progress in benchmarking, increasing energy efficiency, and increasing the resilience of HUD households. As of COP 28, 463,000 HUD-assisted units have been successfully benchmarked; almost 100,000 HUD-assisted or HUD-associated (e.g., FHA-insured) housing units have been made energy efficient or aligned to green building standards through retrofits, rehabilitations, or new construction; and over 25,000 homes affected by recent disaster events rehabilitated, reconstructed, newly constructed or elevated using HUD funds.

HUD’s participation in the Buildings and Climate Forum is part of HUD’s ongoing work to build more sustainable, resilient, and efficient communities. The Department continues to deliver funds from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act through its Green and Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP). As of now, HUD has awarded more than $368 million to support clean energy and climate resilience upgrades at 84 multifamily properties that will improve over 9,000 homes for very low-income households, seniors, and people with disabilities.