Berkeley adopts first-of-its-kind policy to cut pollution from existing homes

In a trailblazing move, the City Council in Berkeley, Calif., passed a policy Tuesday to cut pollution and boost utility affordability and resilience by modernizing homes when they are sold.

The policy ensures that when a home changes hands, it has 21st Century upgrades that will help lower energy bills, improve health and safety during extreme weather events, and decrease air and climate pollution. Under the new policy, if upgrades are needed, home buyers can choose from a menu of options including heat pumps, solar and batteries, panel upgrades, insulation, EV chargers and more. Both home sellers and buyers will put in funds toward the upgrades.

“This policy will ensure that critical action is taken to make homes cleaner, safer, and more energy-efficient — preventing another generation of fossil-fuel-dependent appliances from being locked into homes,” said Tom Graly, Co-Leader of Berkeley Electrification Working Group. “This is a huge win for the climate.”

This is the first policy to leverage the point of sale to cut climate-warming pollution greenhouse gas emissions from existing homes. It will also cut the smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution that comes from burning methane in appliances and which causes asthma and other health problems.

This policy also helps people save money. Often before people sell a home, they buy new appliances to increase the appeal for buyers. According to real estate site Zillow, replacing a fossil fuel heating system with a heat pump before a sale has the best return on investment of any improvement, more than covering the cost.

Rather than home sellers investing in new fossil-fueled appliances, and home buyers paying extra for locked-in air and climate pollution, Berkeley’s policy will encourage sellers to make smart, modern investments that reduce emissions. The city will identify incentives, rebates or other resources to o-set the costs of upgrades. The policy will also help Berkeley homes prepare for upcoming Bay Area Air District requirements for pollution-free space and water heating appliances, requiring fewer retrofits down the line. First-time home buyers participating in income-qualified federal or state programs are exempted from needing upgrades.

“I’m proud of the direction Council took to implement BESO’s improvements, creating a shared responsibility between buyers and sellers to meet higher standards that support our climate mitigation goals, while also easing the financial burden through a thoughtful incentive program,” said Adena Ishii, Mayor of the City of Berkeley.

“Berkeley is largely built-out and much of our emission reductions must come from our existing buildings,” said Ammon Reagan, Sustainability Program Coordinator at the City of Berkeley. “This policy capitalizes on the homebuying process, at a time when resilience upgrades can be easily integrated into a new owner’s home projects and future renovations.”

In Berkeley, existing buildings are the second largest source of greenhouse gases. Space and water heaters powered by methane are the two largest sources of emissions from the city’s homes.

“This policy from Berkeley is ground-breaking,” said Ted Obbard of the Alameda County Chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. “The upgrades to decrease air and climate pollution – paid for in this innovative way – will benefit families, community health, and the planet, and help transition homes across Berkeley to renewable energy.”

Berkeley has long been a leader in reducing air and climate pollution from buildings. In 2019 Berkeley passed a policy requiring new construction to be all-electric, the first policy of its kind. This leadership inspired a movement and similar policies passed across California, across the US, and in Canada. When a lawsuit, apparently funded by the gas industry, led to Berkeley’s policy and policies in other cities being thrown out, aected cities developed new approaches to reduce building emissions. Multiple cities have now passed new policies to increase energy efficiency and lower pollution from new construction. Berkeley’s new policy on existing homes has been in development for years, building on earlier energy disclosure requirements, and now can be replicated in many cities. All these policies together show the new momentum of local government action for clean air, energy efficiency, and climate.

“The way Berkeley has kept moving forward to protect people and the planet is amazing leadership, including this new approach,” said Anne Pernick, Senior Advisor at SAFE Cities at Stand.earth.“This policy will help the City meet its climate goals, while building momentum for local climate action in the face of aggressive opposition from gas utilities and the fossil fuel industry at large.”

“Berkeley’s BESO policy protects people where it matters most – inside their homes,” said Caytie Campbell-Orrock, Policy Director & Senior Researcher at Building Electrification Institute.“It offers a flexible approach that will help clean our air, future-proof homes, and support a transition to clean energy in ways that make sense for homeowners. This is a prime example of how climate policy can deliver real benefits to residents by improving health outcomes and increasing energy aordability. This innovative solution is exactly the kind of leadership Berkeley is known for.”

“Berkeley’s groundbreaking policy tackles harmful pollution at its source while giving homeowners real choices in how they meet the new green standards,” said Dylan Plummer, Building Electrification Campaign Advisor at the Sierra Club.“At a time when climate action faces challenges nationwide, Berkeley shows that they are still a climate leader. This innovative approach provides a blueprint for cities across the country looking to protect public health and reach their climate goals.”

“This policy is a totally innovative approach to steadily cleaning up the health harming, climate warming pollution from Berkeley’s buildings,” said Sam Fishman, Sustainability and Resilience Policy Manager at SPUR. “Berkeley is again showing leadership on climate and clean air, and they’re doing it in a way that makes sense for the community and homeowners. This policy will serve as a model for other cities across our region, and beyond.”

More on the policy:

The new policy is the result of amendments to Berkeley’s Building Emissions Saving Ordinance (BESO) and will go into eect January 1, 2026. The policy will apply to single-family homes and buildings with up to four dwellings. With the new policy, if a home doesn’t yet meet emissions standards, the buyer will choose from a menu of upgrades, including heat pumps, solar and batteries, panel upgrades, insulation, EV chargers and more, that will make the home meet the resilience standard. Different upgrade options earn different amounts of points, and a home buyer would need to complete one or more upgrades to reach the required number of points within two years of the sale. Homes that already have at least one heat pump system, are all-electric, or where sellers have made sufficient upgrades in the five years before sale will not need to make additional upgrades. The city will identify incentives, rebates or other compliance resources to o-set the costs of upgrades. Both home sellers and buyers will put in funds toward upgrades. The funds will be used to reimburse the buyers once they make the upgrades or once they have obtained permits for the upgrades and can show evidence that they will be completed. The policy includes exemptions for first-time home buyers participating in income-qualified federal or state programs.

More about organizations quoted in the release:

The Berkeley Electrification Working Group helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions from homes by raising public awareness of electrification, providing the information and resources homeowners need to transition from natural gas to electric appliances, and advocating for legislative and regulatory changes that support electrification.

SAFE Cities at Stand.earth works with local government leaders and advocates to pass local policies to help transition communities to renewable energy.

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

SPUR — the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association — is a nonprofit public policy organization. We bring people together from across the political spectrum to develop solutions to the big problems cities face. Based in San Francisco, San José, and Oakland, we are recognized as a leading civic planning organization and respected for our independent and holistic approach to urban issues. For more information, visit www.spur.org

Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy climate change organization focused on national policies to address the national and global climate crisis. We exist to create the political will for a livable world by enabling individual breakthroughs in the exercise of personal and political power.

The Building Electrification Institute (BEI) is a non-profit that equips local governments and partners with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to co-create ambitious and equitable strategies to accelerate building electrification. BEI drives change at scale by translating cutting-edge best practices to spur state, regional, and national progress toward fossil fuel-free buildings. BEI has been working with the City of Berkeley since 2018.

Media contacts:

Anne Pernick, Senior Advisor — SAFE Cities at Stand.earth, 541-390-8516, anne@stand.earth

Rommel Mendoza, Program Associate — Sunstone Strategies, 714-472-1561, rommel@sunstonestrategies.org

Melissa Male, Communications Director for Adena Ishii, Mayor of the City of Berkeley, (510) 981-7100, MMale@berkeleyca.gov

Ammon Reagan, Sustainability Program Coordinator – City of Berkeley, 510-981-7416, AReagan@cityofberkeley.info

Tom Graly, Co-Leader – Berkeley Electrification Working Group, 510-207-2250, BerkeleyEWG@gmail.com

Ted Obbard, Co-Leader – Alameda County chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, 510-495-5080, CCLAlameda@Gmail.com

Sam Fishman, Sustainability and Resilience Policy Manager – SPUR, 510-590-2924, sfishman@spur.org

Andrea Diaz, Communications and Development Director – Building Electrification Institute (BEI), 818-279-5005 andrea@beicities.org

Dylan Plummer, Building Electrification Campaign Advisor – Sierra Club, 541-531-1858, dylan.plummer@sierraclub.org