- New York is about to pass a law that would prohibit new buildings from being constructed with gas infrastructure, making it the first state in the U.S. to do so.
- This law aims to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing the use of fossil fuels in buildings, which are a significant contributor to climate change.
- New buildings would be required to use electric or other non-fossil fuel-based sources of energy for heating, cooling, and cooking.
- The law has garnered support from environmental justice advocates, climate groups, public health organizations, and renewable energy advocates who see it as a significant step towards decarbonizing the state’s economy.
- However, the gas industry and some trade groups have expressed concerns about the potential costs and logistics of transitioning to electric or other non-fossil fuel-based energy sources.
By Earthjustice | March 14, 2023
Today, the New York State Senate and Assembly released their “one house” budget resolutions, supporting ending fossil fuels in new construction buildings. If passed, New York would become the first state to enact a gas ban by law.
Headed into budget negotiations, the Governor, Senate, and Assembly now all support this critical policy, which is on track to make New York the first state to end gas in new construction by law. Support continues to grow in the Assembly in recent weeks. Last year, the Assembly had held up this policy’s movement, but the chamber’s endorsement clears the way to enactment.
The politically popular move will reduce climate-heating pollution, improve air quality, reduce childhood asthma, and save New Yorkers money — analyses have found that building all-electric would lead to hundreds of dollars in energy cost savings for consumers. As the prices of gas and fuel oil have continued to rise, New Yorkers across the state, regardless of climate zone, would save more with an all-electric home.
With the state budget due April 1, attention now turns to the timeline and other details of a final agreement. Each year, the state adds approximately 250,000 metric tons of climate-heating pollution from the tens of thousands of new homes and buildings that are built to be dependent on gas boilers and furnaces, thereby locking in higher bills and decades of new pollution, and jeopardizing meeting the state’s legally mandated climate targets. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has modeled that all-electric buildings must be implemented globally by 2025 to give humanity a 50/50 chance of staving off 1.5C temperature rise — worldwide climate catastrophe…
“New York State has another opportunity to lead the country on climate action by ending the use of fossil fuels in new construction. Studies have found that air pollution from buildings burning fossil fuels causes nearly 2,000 premature deaths each year across New York State, and we also know that communities of color are exposed to the highest amounts of air pollution. Every year we delay, we put many more vulnerable New Yorkers at risk,” said Sonal Jessel, MPH, Director of Policy at WE ACT for Environmental Justice. “It’s time we stopped enabling the deadly fossil fuel industry, which has enjoyed record profits, and instead take steps to protect the health and safety of people of color. New York State cannot afford to wait any longer. We must pass the All-Electric Building Act now.”
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