This story originally appeared on Gist and is part of the Climate desk Cooperation.
Cities seeking to remove fossil fuels in buildings have a decisive court victory. Last week a federal judge dismissed litigation brought by lead and construction of commercial groups against New York City ban on natural gas in new buildings. The decision is the first to explicitly disagree with a previous decision that struck Berkeley, the first-in-the-national gas ban. That order, given by the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in 2023 and confirmed again last yearurged cities across the country to withdraw or delay laws modeled after the Berkeley order.
While New York’s law works differently than Berkeley’s, legal experts say this month’s decision provides a strong legal walk for all kinds of local policies to remove gas in buildings – and could encourage cities to take ambitious activity again.
“It is a clear victory in this regard, because the 9th circuit decision had a really scary impact on local governments,” said Amy Turner, director of the cities of climate law of the cities in the Sabin Center for Climate Change of Columbia University. “Now there is something else to draw attention, and a good reason for hope for local governments that may have lit their building electric plans to bring those to the forefront again.”
In 2021, New York adopted Local Law 154which sets up a boundary of air emissions for indoor combustion of fuels in new buildings. According to the law, the burning of “any substance that emits 25 kilograms or more carbon dioxide per million British thermal thermal units of energy”, is prohibited. This standard effectively prohibits gasoline furnaces, ovens, and water heaters, and any other fossil fuel functions. Instead, real estate developers need to install electrical devices, such as induction pins and heat pumps. The policy came into force In 2024 For buildings under seven stories, and applies to higher buildings beginning in 2027.
Berkeley’s law, on the other hand, banned the installation of gas tubing in new construction. The first-type policy was passed in 2019 and inspired nearly one hundred local governments across the country to introduce similar laws. But the order quickly faced a lawsuit from the California restaurant -association, which argued that gasoline ovens were essential to the food industry. In April 2023, the 9th Circuit Court ruled in favor of the restaurant industry, holding that federal energy -effective standards prevented Berkeley’s policy. In January 2024, petition from the city of Berkeley to regain the case in the 9th circuit was rejected.
