Southeast

Georgia

Georgia’s greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 11% from 1990-2021, and most of the state’s climate policies focus on the buildings sector despite transportation accounting for the largest share of the state’s emissions. The state has numerous major interstate highways and the world’s busiest airport, contributing to an increase in transportation emissions over the same time period. Georgia is also home to the Vogtle nuclear plant, which is the country’s largest source of carbon-free electricity.

Governor

Brian Kemp (Republican)

House Party

Republican Majority

Senate Party

Republican Majority

Legislative session

1/8/24 - 3/28/24

Key Offices & Links

4

Policies Enacted or In Progress

across 1 policy area

See all

58

Policy Opportunities

across 7 policy areas

See all

Southeast

14 states

This map shows the occurrence of climate policies passed at the state-level. Higher numbers represent more climate policies enacted.

Compare with other states

Progress by Policy Area

Enacted
In-progress
Partially Enacted
Not Enacted

Glossary of Terms

Status	Policy	Policy Area	Policy Category	YR Enacted
Enacted	Commercial Energy Codes Empty column The statewide energy code for commercial building construction is 2015 IECC and ASHRAE 90.1-2013. Establishing Policies Georgia State Energy Code (2020)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2020
Enacted	Residential Energy Codes Empty column The statewide energy code for residential construction is 2015 IECC with amendments. Establishing Policies Georgia State Energy Code (2020)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes	2020
Not Enacted	Stretch Building Energy Codes Empty column Stretch building energy codes are an optional, more stringent building code established by the state that local jurisdictions can adopt to require that newly constructed buildings are more efficient than the baseline state codes.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Codes
Enacted	Appliance Standards Empty column The Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Construction Standards apply to 1 product: toilets. Establishing Policies GA Code § 50-8-18 (2008) Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Construction Standards (2009)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards	2009
Not Enacted	Building Performance Standards Empty column Building performance standards establish energy and/or greenhouse gas performance targets for existing buildings in a state. These targets increase in stringency over time, leading to efficiency improvements in buildings to conserve energy and reduce emissions.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards
Not Enacted	Clean Heat Standards Empty column Clean heat standards establish a performance standard requiring heat providers to deliver a gradually-increasing percentage of low-emission heating services to customers.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Standards
Not Enacted	Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS) Empty column Energy efficiency resource standards (EERS) establish targets and deadlines for utilities to reduce electricity demand through efficiency or "demand side" programs.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency
Enacted	Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Empty column Georgia has enacted commercial PACE-enabling legislation and has active programs. Establishing Policies HB 206 (2024)	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency	2024
Partially Enacted	Weatherization Funding Empty column The State Policy Opportunity Tracker (SPOT) breaks clean energy policies down into “components”, which are binary questions to evaluate policy quality. Higher quality policies have more of their SPOT components fulfilled. Establishing Policies SPOT - Weatherization Funding in Georgia Policy Components enacted enacted not-enacted not-enacted 2/4	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Efficiency
Not Enacted	All-Electric Buildings Empty column All-electric buildings policies require new buildings to be constructed with all-electric heating, cooling, and cooking systems to transition away from fossil-fuel use in buildings.	Buildings and Efficiency	Building Electrification

Georgia

Key Offices & Links

4

58

Southeast

Progress by Policy Area

Climate Governance and Equity

Cross-Sector

Electricity

Buildings and Efficiency

Transportation

Industry, Materials, and Waste Management

Natural and Working Lands

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Projections in Georgia