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Statement of Introduction Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study Amendment Act of 2026 January 27, 2026 Today, alongside Councilmembers R. White, Nadeau, Pinto, and Allen, I am proud to introduce the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study Amendment Act of 2026. This legislation is grounded in a clear and urgent reality: intensifying extreme weather is already reshaping life in the District. From heavier rainfall and flooding to extreme heat and increasing strain on our buildings, infrastructure, and public services, the conditions we are experiencing today are testing systems that were not designed for this level of stress. These impacts carry real human costs, and they fall most heavily on Black and brown residents, seniors, unhoused neighbors, and other vulnerable communities. For the District to thrive in this new reality, we must adapt—and effective adaptation begins with understanding. The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study Amendment Act will provide a comprehensive, data-driven assessment of the total costs of greenhouse gas emissions in the District and how those emissions have contributed to intensifying extreme weather. Using rigorous attribution science, the study will evaluate both the costs the District has already incurred and the costs we are projected to face in the future. Critically, this legislation will help the District identify which infrastructure projects should be prioritized to adapt to and mitigate these growing risks. The study will assess impacts on public health, housing, flood preparedness and safety, natural resources, economic development, and other essential systems, and will quantify the costs of necessary adaptation and disaster recovery. Just as importantly, this bill brings predictability to a moment defined by instability. By creating a shared, credible foundation of District-specific information, government agencies will be better equipped to plan responsibly for capital investments, prioritize infrastructure upgrades, and strengthen emergency preparedness. It will also provide the private sector—including developers, lenders, insurers, and employers—with greater confidence to make long-term decisions that reduce risk and control costs. At its core, the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study Amendment Act of 2026 is about readiness. It ensures that the District has the tools it needs to plan for the future with clarity, foresight, and confidence—even as extreme weather becomes more severe and less predictable. While we cannot eliminate uncertainty from the weather itself, we can eliminate uncertainty from how we prepare for it.
___________________________ ___________________________ 1 Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau Councilmember Janeese Lewis George 2 3 4 ___________________________ ___________________________ 5 Councilmember Brooke Pinto Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 6 7 8 ___________________________ 9 Councilmember Charles Allen 10 A BILL 11 12 ______________ 13 14 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 15 16 ___________________________ 17 18 To amend the District Department of the Environment Establishment Act of 2005 to require the 19 Department of Energy and the Environment solicit proposals and provide a grant of 20 $200,000 in order to conduct a study assessing the total costs of greenhouse gas 21 emissions in the District and to identify high priority infrastructure projects to adapt for 22 intensifying extreme weather. 23 24 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 25 act may be cited as the “Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study Amendment Act of 2026”. 26 Sec. 2. The District Department of the Environment Establishment Act of 2005, effective 27 February 15, 2006 (D.C. Law 16-51; D.C. Official Code § 8-151.01 et seq.), is amended by 28 adding a new section 109i to read as follows: 29 “Sec. 109i. Greenhouse gas emissions study. 30 “(a) Within 120 days of the effective date of this section, DOEE shall solicit proposals for 31 the purpose of issuing a grant in the amount of $200,000 to an organization with expertise in 32 attribution science to conduct a study on the total costs of greenhouse gas emissions in the 33
District between the years of 1995 and 2024 and the purposes identified in subsection (d) of this 34 section. 35 “(b) Within 180 days of the effective date of this section, DOEE shall select the grant 36 recipient to conduct the study. 37 “(c) The grant recipient alongside DOEE, shall compile a report detailing the findings of 38 the study, that shall include: 39 “(1) A summary of the various cost-driving effects of greenhouse gas emissions 40 from the relevant time period on the District, including effects on public health, natural 41 resources, biodiversity, agriculture, economic development, flood preparedness and safety, and 42 housing, and any other effect that the grantee and DOEE determine to be relevant; 43 “(2) A categorized calculation of the costs that have been incurred and costs that 44 are projected to be incurred by the District and its residents for each effect identified under 45 paragraph (1) of this subsection; 46 “(3) A categorized calculation of the costs that have been incurred and costs that 47 are projected to be incurred by the District and its residents to adapt to the effects of covered 48 greenhouse gas emissions during the covered period; and 49 “(4) An economic analysis to determine whether there would be a cost passed on 50 to taxpayers as a result of requiring each fossil fuel company that has a sufficient nexus to the 51 District and emitted more than 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions globally between 1995 52 and 2024 to compensate the District for costs related to necessary adaptation to and disaster 53 recovery from intensifying extreme weather.”. 54
“(d) The report shall be submitted by the grant recipient to the Mayor and the Council 55 committee with jurisdiction no later than November 30 of the year following the beginning of the 56 fiscal year in which the study was funded. 57 “(e) If requested, the grant recipient shall appear before the Council committee with 58 jurisdiction over DOEE to report on the total assessed cost of greenhouse gas emissions in the 59 District based on the findings of the study.”. 60 Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 61 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 62 impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 63 approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 64 Sec. 4. Effective date. 65 This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 66 Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto) and a 30-day period of congressional review 67 as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 68 24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)). 69