US Cities Seeking to Ban Natural Gas in New Buildings Just Got a Big Win in Court

This story is originally It appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Office’s cooperation.

The cities looking to eliminate fossil fuels in the buildings achieved a decisive victory in the court. Last week, a federal judge rejected a lawsuit filed by trade and construction groups in New York City on natural gas in new buildings. The decision is the first to be explicitly different with a previous ruling that struck Berkeley, the first ban on gas in California. This matter, issued by the Court of Appeal in the ninth American district in 2023 and pushed again last year, pushed cities across the country to withdraw or delay the laws designed after Berkeley Decree.

While the New York City law works differently from Berkeley, legal experts say this month’s decision provides a strong legal bottom for all types of local policies to gradually get rid of gas in buildings – and can encourage cities to take ambitious measures again.

“It is a clear victory in this regard, because the ninth department’s decision had a chilling effect on local governments,” said Amy Turner, director of the Climate Law initiative in Colombia’s cities at the Sabine Center for Climate Change. “Now there is something else to refer to, and a good reason for hope for local governments that might have photographed its buildings plans to bring them to the interface again.”

In 2021, New York City adopted local law 154, which determines the limit of air emissions for internal combustion of fuel inside new buildings. Under the law, it is prohibited to burn “any material of which emits 25 kilograms or more carbon dioxide per million British thermal units of energy.” This standard effectively prohibits gas burning stoves, ovens, water heaters, and any other fossil fuel devices. Instead, real estate developers must install electrical appliances, such as induction stoves and heat pumps. Policy entered into force in 2024 buildings under seven stories, and will apply to the longest buildings that start in 2027.

Berkeley Law, on the other hand, banned the installation of gas pipelines in a new building. The first policy of its kind was issued in 2019 and inspired nearly a hundred local governments across the country to provide similar laws. But the decree quickly faced a lawsuit by the California Restaurants Association, which argued that gas stoves were necessary for the food services industry. In April 2023, the ninth department court ruled in favor of the restaurant industry, considering that federal energy efficiency standards exclude Berkeley’s policy. In January 2024, a petition was rejected from Berkeley to restore the case in the ninth district.