- The New York City Council has passed legislation to accelerate the phaseout of Fuel Oil No.4 in buildings, which is a heavy, polluting oil used for heating.
- The legislation requires all buildings in the city to stop using Fuel Oil No.4 by 2030, and to transition to cleaner heating fuels, such as natural gas, biodiesel, or renewable energy.
- The phaseout is expected to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, which are the city’s largest source of emissions and contribute to climate change and public health problems.
- The legislation includes measures to support building owners and residents in the transition, such as financial incentives, technical assistance, and education.
- The legislation has been praised by environmental justice and public health experts as a significant step towards decarbonizing buildings and improving air quality.
By WE ACT for Environmental Justice | February 16, 2023
Today the New York City Council passed Introduction 470-A, which would require building owners to end the use of No. 4 oil by October 15, 2027, accelerating the timeline by 3 years. Fuel oil No. 4 is used in buildings as a source of heat and has a chemical composition that includes a mix of diesel oil and heavy fuel oils, the burning of which produces harmful air pollutants such as particulate matter, or soot, that can trigger asthma attacks and contribute to lung cancer, heart disease, and premature death.
Residents in Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx have the highest concentrations of buildings that burn fuel oil No. 4 in the city, contributing to their placement in New York State Enviroscreen’s top quartile for cancer risk and diesel exhaust. Notably, the same census tracts in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan with elevated exposure are in the top Enviroscreen quartile for percentage of people of color. Transitioning away from fuel oil No. 4 by 2027 is a profound step toward remedying the disproportionate burden on communities of color and protecting every New Yorker’s right to breathe clean air.
The new phaseout deadline has major public health implications for youth in these communities as well. In the case of several Bronx neighborhoods, pollution from fuel oil no. 4 often overlaps with high heat vulnerability and childhood asthma rates.
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