Momentum Q1 | 2026

What happened this quarter in the building decarbonization movement

From the ever-expanding energy demand of data centers and AI-driven campaigns to weaken appliance standards, to the growing list of repealed regulations intended to protect public health and the environment, 2026 looks different from the future many of us envisioned when we began working on building decarbonization.

Progress, however, is rarely linear. While some areas appear to be regressing, others reveal surprising innovation, momentum, and durability across the United States.

Federally funded home energy rebates, for example, remain active in a dozen states and the District of Columbia (tracked by the Atlas Building Hub). A national consensus is forming around the importance of energy affordability. States are reforming rate structures, scrutinizing unnecessary capital expenditures by utilities, and—in the case of New Jersey—even freezing rates temporarily.

This report cuts through the noise to highlight those lasting shifts: the proceedings, legislation, protections, and investments that signal steady, if uneven, progress in the unfolding thermal transition.

Read on for the full report and download the executive summary below.