This story originally Appears in Grist It is part of Climate desk collaboration.
The city seeking to eliminate fossil fuels from its buildings is carved into a decisive court victory. Last week, federal judge Dismissed the lawsuit It was brought about by plumbing and building trade groups against the ban on natural gas in new buildings in New York City. This decision is the first to expressly oppose the previous ruling that was overthrown. California’s first gas ban Berkeley. and that order issued in 2023 by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals It was once again supported last yearurged cities across the country to withdraw or delay laws modeled after the Berkeley Ordinance.
While New York City law works differently from Berkeley’s law, legal experts say this month’s decision will provide a strong legal position on all sorts of local policies to phase out gas in buildings and encourage cities to take ambitious action again.
“We’re excited to be able to help you get the better of your time,” said Amy Turner of the Urban Climate Law Initiative at Columbia University’s Sabin Climate Change Law Center. “Now there are some other points to it, and there are good reasons for hope for local governments that may have retreated their building electrification plans and brought them back to the forefront.”
New York City adopted it in 2021 Local Method 154Sets air emission limits for indoor combustion of fuel in new buildings. Under the law, the burning of “materials that emit more than 25 kilograms of carbon dioxide per million of UK energy” is prohibited. That standard effectively bans gas-fired stoves, furnaces, water heaters, and other fossil-fuel-powered appliances. Instead, real estate developers will need to install electrical appliances such as induction stoves and heat pumps. The policy has been enacted 2024 For buildings below the seven-storey building, it will be applied to tall buildings from 2027.
Meanwhile, Berkeley law has banned the installation of gas pipes in new constructions. The first policy was passed in 2019, and inspired by nearly 100 local governments across the country to introduce similar laws. However, the ordinance soon faced a lawsuit by the California Restaurant Association. The California Restaurant Association has argued that gas stoves are essential to the food service industry. In April 2023, the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of the restaurant industry, finding that federal energy efficiency standards had preceded Berkeley’s policy. January 2024, petition Rehearsing cases in 9th circuits in Berkeley It was rejected.
