Just Solutions, along with many of our partners, urges the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to require that the home mortgages they back meet updated energy efficiency standards. As the FHFA oversees the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, such action would bring about 70% of mortgages for new homes in the U.S. into line with higher energy efficiency standards, preventing nearly 200 million metric tons in CO2 emissions and creating an estimated 590,000 jobs. Low-income and disadvantaged communities in particular stand to gain from the energy cost savings and health and safety benefits that come with improved energy efficiency.

Just Solutions has produced a trio of briefs examining this opportunity from several perspectives. This brief explains the role of GSEs in mortgage markets and green financing, introduces the federal Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and highlights planned green mortgage products supported by it, and discusses how FHFA’s adoption of building energy code requirements for mortgages would complement green lending supported by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, with a particular focus on benefits for low-income and disadvantaged communities.

This trio of briefs will be followed by a webinar to be held in January 2025. With our partners, we are also submitting a letter to the Biden Administration urging that the FHFA take immediate action on this issue.