This week in buildings, land and industry decarbonization news, James Downing wrote about a study DNV ran with major utilities on how their efficiency programs can still cut lighting’s power demand as LEDs become standard. Efficiency programs for commercial lighting have focused on swapping old bulbs for LEDs, but with the tech reaching saturation this decade, the focus will need to shift to alternatives such as replacing the entire ceiling grid in buildings, or adopting technologies that use ultraviolet light to kill germs in the air, leading to efficiencies with HVAC by being able to reuse treated air more.

Minnesota Public Radio looked into how funding delays from the Trump administration have impacted several efficiency programs that Congress already allocated money for the state. More than $250 million in funding for programs like home energy retrofits and tax credits for buying heat pumps have been kept back from Minnesota. A state official said the new administration has not explained why the funds have been put on hold. Court orders have made some of the cash flow, but other programs are still on hold. 

President Trump has rolled back some late Biden-era efficiency standards issued by the Department of Energy, and Beveridge & Diamond wrote at JD Supra about likely legal challenges to those efforts. While some of the standards could be overturned by the Congressional Review Act as well, others could face litigation as similar attempts by the first Trump administration did. 

Finally, a blog that links to more in-depth pieces for the Atlantic Council goes into whether Europe can successfully cut carbon while keeping its industry competitive in a global economy. The European Commission recently released a Clean Industrial Deal, which follows similar past proposals and seeks to ensure affordability, speed permitting, digitalize the grid, among other actions. But given geopolitical pressures and competition from around the globe, the question is whether those policies will work while keeping European industry relevant. 

Read all those stories and more in this week’s Intelligence Report: