Inflation Reduction Act would boost low-carbon materials in civil projects

Abstract

The federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 contains more than $5 billion to incentivize the use of low-carbon building materials in public infrastructure projects and certain government-owned buildings. Currently, the bill's green procurement funding includes: $2.15 billion to install low-carbon materials in General Services Administration-owned buildings. 100 million to identify and label low-carbon materials and products for federally funded transportation and building projects. The bill also contains $4 billion to improve resiliency in affordable housing, including funds for low-carbon materials, and allows FEMA's Building Materials program to offer financial assistance for low-carbon materials and net-zero energy projects. The EPA administrator will identify which materials qualify as low embodied carbon, per the bill, namely those with substantially lower levels of embodied carbon compared to estimated industry averages of similar materials. Low-carbon materials key to climate fight Building materials are a focus of the Biden administration's environmental goals because the construction process is highly polluting. With the new federal funding, contractors can use lower-carbon materials at no extra cost and build their expertise in green construction - a sector that is projected to boom.