WaPo (“Trump administration plans to end Energy Star program for home appliances“):
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to end Energy Star, a popular program whose iconic blue labels have certified the energy efficiency of home appliances for more than three decades, according to three people briefed on the matter and documents reviewed by The Washington Post.
During an all-hands meeting Monday of the EPA’s Office of Atmospheric Protection, Trump administration officials announced that the office would be dissolved and that Energy Star would be eliminated, the three people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
Officials also outlined the changes in slide presentations obtained by Democrats on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The presentations, which were shared with The Post, state that “staff in restructured/eliminated organizations may be reassigned to other positions.”
The end of Energy Star, first reported by CNN, builds on the Trump administration’s broader attacks on energy efficiency standards for appliances found in millions of American homes. Such standards have become a flash point in the nation’s culture wars and a source of conservative resistance to President Joe Biden’s environmental agenda.
Yet the decision is likely to draw pushback on Capitol Hill, where Energy Star has historically enjoyed modest bipartisan support. A handful of moderate Republican senators have championed the program, saying it has helped consumers reduce their energy bills while improving the efficiency of refrigerators, dishwashers, clothes washers and other appliances.
An EPA spokesperson did not directly respond to questions about the end of Energy Star. In an email, the spokesperson said the agency is undergoing a reorganization that affects the Office of Air and Radiation, which includes the Office of Atmospheric Protection.
“With this action, EPA is delivering organizational improvements to the personnel structure that will directly benefit the American people and better advance the agency’s core mission, while Powering the Great American Comeback,” the spokesperson said.
NYT (“E.P.A. Plans to Shut Down the Energy Star Program“):
The Environmental Protection Agency plans to eliminate Energy Star, the popular energy efficiency certification for dishwashers, refrigerators, dryers and other home appliances, according to agency documents and a recording of an internal meeting.
[…]
“The Energy Star program and all the other climate work, outside of what’s required by statute, is being de-prioritized and eliminated,” Paul Gunning, the director of the E.P.A. Office of Atmospheric Protection, told employees during the meeting, according to the recording obtained by The New York Times. Mr. Gunning’s office itself is also slated for elimination.
For the past 33 years, Energy Star has been known for its recognizable blue label, which shows that an appliance has met energy efficiency standards set by the federal government.
It has been credited with changing the way Americans shop by encouraging manufacturers to make products that use less power, as well as with reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Since its creation under the first President George Bush in 1992, Energy Star has helped households and businesses save more than $500 billion in energy costs and to get rebates and tax credits, according to the program’s 2024 report. At the same time, it has also prevented four billion metric tons of greenhouse gases from being released into the atmosphere.
Nearly 90 percent of American consumers recognize the Energy Star label, according to the government. “It’s an easy way for them to identify high energy efficiency equipment,” said Steve Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
“It’s had widespread support from all presidents except for Trump,” Mr. Nadel said.
President Trump has railed against energy efficient appliances and taken particular aim at shower heads and toilets that are designed to conserve water.
During his first term, Mr. Trump tried to eliminate funding for Energy Star, describing it as not essential to the core mission of the E.P.A. and something that could be run by the private sector. The effort to defund the program prompted a backlash from lawmakers in both parties who said privatizing it could lower the program’s standards.
This just seems weird to me. I don’t know what the program costs to run and am persuadable that it’s more expensive than it’s worth—except that this doesn’t seem to be about cost at all.
I’m actually sympathetic to complaints that environmental regulation have made various home appliances worse at performing their assigned functions. Railing about low-flow showers and toilets and washing machines and dishwashers that don’t clean as well as they used to is overblown but not without merit. Similarly, the ever-changing refrigerants used in refrigerators and HVAC systems are both more expensive and less efficient than older versions. While I think the tradeoffs likely worth it, I at least understand the frustrations and why a populist politician would target those policies.
But who is it that wants less information about the operating costs of major appliances? I have a hard time imagining that consumer.
