This post was originally published on the Passive House Network's site. You can read the original version here.

When a climate disaster hits your city, what’s the best way to build forward? According to a new study from the Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action and Fire-Safe Recovery, the answer is Passive House.

The report, released in collaboration with UCLA, includes research-backed recommendations and action plans for resilient and sustainable rebuilding in Los Angeles. The climate-minded report takes into account the challenges the fire aftermath left the city with, including displacement, rising insurance costs, and vulnerability to future climate events. It includes community and other stakeholder input to arrive at solutions to address everyone’s needs.

For stronger building codes and resilience standards, the report recommends increased education around sustainable design practices and materials, naming Passive House specifically as an educational priority among architects, engineers, and contractors, and residents:

To increase energy resilience, the report recommends pre-approving designs and streamlining permitting and interconnection, again highlighting Passive House as an ideal option. Streamlining these processes is especially important during this early rebuilding stage, as Passive House works best to flatten peak loads when adopted at scale. (For more on why Passive House is the Electrification Standard, check out our blog post from earlier this year.)

The report also recommends that local and state representatives should work with groups like the AIA and others to “develop and publish a library of preapproved all-electric, solar, battery-ready fire-resilient designs including highly efficient, healthy, and fire-resistant Passive House-style designs.” (If this sounds familiar to you, you’ve probably heard about our ongoing California Rebuilds Design Competition, which will create a catalog of high-performing Passive House homes that homeowners and developers can use to inspire and inform their own rebuilds. Submissions are currently open until September 30th!)

Creating resilient, healthy homes in areas hit by wildfires and other climate-related disasters is more important than ever, and Passive House has emerged as the best building standard to fit the bill. We encourage you to learn more about rebuilding with Passive House by checking out our Climate Disaster Support library. To learn more about how Passive House works, you can watch our free 1-hour Intro to Passive House course.