{"id":1004788556,"date":"2026-02-18T11:32:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T19:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004788556"},"modified":"2026-02-18T14:21:01","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T22:21:01","slug":"capital-ideas-why-emissions-still-matter-for-cre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/capital-ideas-why-emissions-still-matter-for-cre\/","title":{"rendered":"Capital Ideas: 5 Reasons Deregulation Will Not Slow Sustainability"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Last week, the current administration rescinded the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding, an Obama-era scientific conclusion that served as the legal foundation for the Environmental Protection Agency\u2019s rules limiting carbon emissions in certain industries.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"804\" height=\"620\" data-attachment-id=\"1004706954\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/capital-ideas-the-man-to-watch\/new-headshot-copy\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2024\/03\/new-headshot-copy.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"804,620\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"new headshot copy\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo of Therese Fitzgerald, CPE Executive Editor&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Therese Fitzgerald&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2024\/03\/new-headshot-copy.jpg?w=804\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2024\/03\/new-headshot-copy.jpg?w=804\" alt=\"Photo of Therese Fitzgerald, CPE Executive Editor\" class=\"wp-image-1004706954\" style=\"width:400px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2024\/03\/new-headshot-copy.jpg 804w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2024\/03\/new-headshot-copy.jpg?resize=300,231 300w, https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2024\/03\/new-headshot-copy.jpg?resize=768,592 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 804px) 100vw, 804px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Therese Fitzgerald<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Deregulation has been a hallmark of this presidency, but this rollback sent shockwaves through the heavily regulated auto, electric and oil and gas industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While buildings are responsible for 37 percent of emissions, according to the United Nations, the federal government has not imposed regulations on real estate to date. During the Biden era, the Department of Energy did establish a \u201cdiscretionary standard\u201d for zero emissions building, but that was rescinded at the end of last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p><strong> LIKE THIS CONTENT?<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/subscriptions\/\">Subscribe to the CPE Capital Markets Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>So, sustainability in CRE investment and finance has gained momentum\u2014going from a nice-to-have to a must-have\u2014without federal mandates. Here are five reasons why carbon reduction and sustainability is likely to gain rather than lose importance in the coming years:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-the-states-and-cities-are-driving\">1. The states and cities are driving<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>States and cities have taken up the mantle of controlling emissions from buildings, and those efforts are accelerating. Investing in markets where such laws have been enacted such laws requires a precise understanding of current regulations, and the potential for future statutes are a risk that must be factored into the underwriting of a potential investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-sustainability-has-a-value\">2. Sustainability has a value<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The business case for sustainability is no longer something CRE investors need to be convinced of. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/how-leed-certification-fared-in-the-office-sector-in-2025\/\">Efficient, carbon-conscious buildings<\/a> are more competitive and more profitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-climate-is-a-risk\">3. Climate is a risk<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Extreme weather, of which carbon emissions are known to be the cause, has made resilience a key requirement for lenders and insurers since resilient buildings are seen as less risky and more valuable. Likewise, properties that cannot be in compliance with state and local carbon regulations will be unfinanceable and uninsurable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-occupiers-have-targets\">4. Occupiers have targets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>American corporations look to occupy the buildings of owners who, like them, have plans to control carbon emissions, both operationally and in the materials they use, and wellness for employees, including clean air to breath, is a growing priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-sustainability-is-the-global-standard\">5. Sustainability is the global standard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Real estate capital is global, and overseas investors, particularly those from EU countries, the United Kingdom and Asia, want to engage with U.S. investors whose priorities are aligned with theirs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the EPA has dropped its scientific finding, research into the impacts of carbon emissions as well as innovations for reducing operational and embedded carbon continues. And renewable energy is also gaining traction in real estate despite the current administration&#8217;s favoring of fossil fuels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite federal rollbacks, emissions reduction and resilience still matter for CRE.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":756,"featured_media":1004706954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21825,21783,21786,21684],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1004788556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance","category-investment","category-sustainability","category-viewpoint"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v24.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Capital Ideas: 5 Reasons Deregulation Will Not Slow Sustainability - Commercial Property Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/capital-ideas-why-emissions-still-matter-for-cre\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Capital Ideas: 5 Reasons Deregulation Will Not Slow Sustainability\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Despite federal rollbacks, emissions reduction and resilience still matter for CRE.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/capital-ideas-why-emissions-still-matter-for-cre\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-18T19:32:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-18T22:21:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2024\/03\/new-headshot-copy.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"804\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Therese Fitzgerald\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/capital-ideas-why-emissions-still-matter-for-cre\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/capital-ideas-why-emissions-still-matter-for-cre\/\",\"name\":\"Capital Ideas: 5 Reasons Deregulation Will Not Slow Sustainability - 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She got her start writing about the New York City market with Real Estate Weekly and later joined CPE\u2019s predecessor publication, Commercial Property News, where she held various positions including editor in chief. In addition to working on the CPE and MHN websites, she edits CPE's Capital Markets Newsletter and MHN's Finance &amp; Investment Newsletter. 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