October Government Affairs Updates
Federal Government Affairs
ARPA-H Announces Funding to Advance IAQ
On September 29, The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) announced several research and development entities will receive funding under the Building Resilient Environments for Air and Total Health (BREATHE) program. The program aims to advance the next generation of smart and healthy buildings by developing integrated systems that will provide continual measurement and risk assessment of indoor air quality and deploy real-time interventions, like extra ventilation or disinfection, to reduce airborne threats to human health. More information on the funded projects can be found here.
Global Government Affairs
Australia Updates Emissions Targets, With Potential Impacts for HVAC Industries
The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, has increased the nation’s 2035 carbon emission reduction target to 62% –70% from a 2005 baseline, up from the goal of a 51% reduction. The increase was spurred by the release of a National Climate Risk Assessment that cited threats from natural disasters increasing in scope and scale, worsening heat waves, growing health and economic impacts from heat, drought, and fires, and massive infrastructure risk to coastal communities. The plan to cut emissions by 2035 includes a built environment plan that calls for greater building electrification, increased building energy efficiency, and renewed focus on HFC refrigerant phasedowns, all of which are seen as efforts to mitigate these risks. You can find the full built environment plan and further information on the broader effort to lower carbon emissions in line with the 2035 goal here.
