In February 2022, a petition for review was filed in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging a U.S. Department of Energy final interpretive rule regarding what constitutes a “feature” for purposes of establishing energy conservation standards under the Energy Policy and Conservation Act. The final rule reinstated, for residential furnaces, commercial water heaters, and similar products, a long-standing interpretation under which heat exchanger technology used to supply heated air or hot water is not a performance-related “feature” that provides a distinct consumer utility. The petitioners were trade associations representing energy companies that deliver natural gas and publicly owned natural gas distribution systems, natural gas utilities, and a manufacturer of heating and cooling equipment. Twelve states, the District of Columbia, and New York City moved to intervene in support of the respondents, as did Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, and Consumer Federation of America. On April 8, the D.C. Circuit granted the petitioners’ unopposed motion to hold the case in abeyance pending issuance of final efficiency regulations issued in reliance on the interpretive rule.

Challenge to a U.S. Department of Energy final interpretive rule regarding what constitutes a “feature” for purposes of establishing energy conservation standards.

American Gas Association v. U.S. Department of Energy

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D.C. Circuit Held Challenge to Energy Conservation Standards Interpretive Rule in Abeyance

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

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A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

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Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.