New York becomes first state to pass gas and fossil fuel ban

New York is the first state to pass a law that will ban natural gas and fossil fuels in new buildings, setting up the stage for the erosion of gas stoves in the state.

The New York State Legislature passed a $229 billion state budget that will prohibit gas hookups in most new homes and other constructed buildings. The calls have made it to the national level, with the topic of banning gas stoves taking center stage.

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A provision in the budget will help the state transition from fossil fuel consumption by phasing in new electric-only requirements for new buildings, beginning in 2025. The law effectively requires all-electric heating and cooking in new buildings shorter than seven stories by 2026.

Hospitals, critical infrastructure, and commercial food establishments are exempt from the requirements. Existing buildings and appliances will not be affected by the law, so residents will not be forced to get rid of their existing gas stoves or appliances.

“Changing the ways we make and use energy to decrease our reliance on fossil fuels will help ensure a healthier environment for us and our children,” New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat, said in a statement. “The provisions in this budget will help us do that and meet the ambitious climate goals we set in the [Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act].”

In New York, gas fuels 46% of the state’s electricity. However, the state is looking to combat this with the CLCPA, one of the United States’s most ambitious climate laws. Enacted in 2019, it establishes the state’s goals of reducing economywide greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and by no less than 85% by 2050 from 1990 levels, per the act’s website.

Under the state’s new budget, a fund will be established to take in revenue generated from regulating the CLCPA, with at least 33% of the fund set aside from consumer and small-business rebates.

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New York’s law is consistent with the Biden administration’s broader goal to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 50%-52% nationally by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.

Gas stoves, which are used in roughly 40% of U.S. homes and are favored by many cooks, have been found to emit air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and other particulate matter at levels deemed unsafe by the Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization.