Building Decarbonization Policy Research Intern
Thirty percent of the greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. come from buildings. Policies that create clean heat targets, thermal energy network pilots, long-term gas planning goals, workforce protections, equitable building decarbonization targets, and regulatory reforms all work together to help states reduce emissions from the methane gas that still burns in most of our buildings.
The Policy Research Intern at BDC will lead the organization’s annual legislative analysis to demonstrate the momentum of building decarbonization across the U.S., track emerging policy trends, and transfer lessons learned across advocates and other key stakeholders in different states. This project (“the legislative roundup”), is used by building decarbonization advocates across the country and cited by foundations, non-profits, and policy makers as a source of truth for the building decarbonization movement. The project includes two key deliverables:
- The legislative tracker (see 2025 example), which is where we track, sort, and categorize bills and their outcomes each year; and
- The legislative roundup, the public-facing analysis of the policy trends and lessons that emerged from state legislative sessions (see 2025 Legislative Roundup).
The Policy Research Intern will be the owner of the legislative tracker and will complete this deliverable by the end of the internship. The intern will work with the broader research and communications team to develop the framework for the legislative roundup and will co-author the first draft of the roundup, which will be published following the end of the internship in September or October 2026.
Completion of this project will grant the intern insight into key policies for lowering greenhouse gas emissions from the built environment while delivering affordable and accessible heating and cooling to homes and businesses; immerse them into the broader state-based networks of climate advocates; familiarize them with reading and analyzing bills and the distinct state-based legislative processes and procedures; strengthen their creative thinking; sharpen their qualitative and quantitative research skills; and allow them to experience what it’s like to work for an agile and always-evolving non-profit in the climate space.
Key Responsibilities
- Conduct a comprehensive review of state-level building decarbonization bills introduced in 2026
- Monitor the status of bills as legislative sessions end to ensure data accuracy
- Collaborate with the Senior Research Associate to document, categorize, and analyze key elements of each bill
- Interview members of BDC’s state teams and state-level advocates at other organizations to gather deeper insights on policy context and impact
- As time allows, author a blog on an emergent policy topic discovered during their research for the legislative tracker
Qualifications
The Building Decarbonization Coalition values self-motivated, adaptable, critical thinkers to fit well with our supportive and collaborative culture. The ideal intern has a desire to learn about building decarbonization, is motivated by building and maintaining strong professional relationships, and is familiar with remote communication primarily through Slack and Zoom. Other skills we look for include:
- Familiarity with quantitative and qualitative research methods; a solid understanding of methodology, source evaluation, and data collection processes is a plus
- Attention to detail
- Knows when to ask for help and is open to receiving feedback
- Excellent verbal and written communication
- Ability to work to a prescribed project schedule
- Sense of humor, or at least a tolerance of our quirky, word-play rabbit holes
Timeline
Background
The Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC) aligns critical stakeholders on a path to transform the nation’s buildings through clean energy, using policy, research, market development, and public engagement. The BDC and its members are charting the course to eliminate fossil fuels in buildings to improve people’s health, cut climate and air pollution, prioritize high-road jobs, and ensure that our communities are more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
Through coalition-building, consumer inspiration, and policy analysis, the BDC is pursuing fast, fair action to accelerate the adoption of heat pumps and other building electrification products and services, which will help states cut one of their largest sources of pollution while creating safe, healthy, and affordable communities.
