Fox Business host pushes conspiracy theory that energy efficiency standards are intended to end private home ownership

Fox & Friends neglected to inform its audience that the new standard would save homeowners nearly $1,000 per year on energy costs

On the May 30 edition of Fox & Friends, co-host Steve Doocy and Fox Business host Charles Payne discussed a Biden administration proposal to increase the heating and cooling efficiency standards of new homes, focusing on a Department of Housing and Urban Development analysis that found it would add $7,200 to the average price of a new house but improve energy efficiency by 37%, leading to long-term savings for homeowners.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, “direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions” from homes and businesses are responsible for 31 percent of the United States’ total emissions. Politico reported that homebuilders oppose the implementation of new energy standards, citing cost concerns, while supporters point to the long-term cost savings homeowners will enjoy in addition to the environmental benefits. Politico also reported that the new standards conform with the “latest international standards for energy efficiency,” as “many U.S. homebuilders now use standards that are over a decade old and have weaker requirements for insulation, lighting, heating and cooling.”

During their segment, which glossed over the benefits of the new standards, Doocy and Payne completely ignored that the same HUD analysis found that the policy would lead to “average annual energy savings of almost $1,000 per household per year for single family homes and more than $400 per household in low-rise multifamily housing.”

Instead, Payne launched into a baseless conspiracy theory that the policy isn’t designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and save homeowners on energy costs, but is instead meant to fulfill a progressive agenda to end home ownership:

Video file

Citation From the May 30, 2024, edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends

CHARLES PAYNE (FOX BUSINESS HOST): Hey, listen. I'm going to tell you right now, progressives don't like ownership. They really — the ultimate goal is for you to not to own a home. That's the real ultimate goal. They love everyone to congregate around major cities and live on top of each other in apartments and share things. They have pushed for a sharing society.