Gas bans gain steam despite industry wins
Efforts to ban natural gas are still simmering in pockets of the country, despite a recent spate of political and legal wins for the fossil fuel industry.
From Colorado to New York, local officials and climate activists continue to pursue various policies to phase out natural gas hookups and appliances like stoves. Those range from requiring new buildings to use only electric heating to establishing grants that enable neighborhoods to get rid of aging gas pipelines.
“I think the initial state of discouragement has evolved into an increased sense of motivation to find ways that work, to find policies that are both acceptable and effective,” said Christine Brinker, senior buildings policy manager for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project.
Fossil fuel use in buildings accounts for a large chunk of planet-warming emissions, but local efforts to move away from natural gas heaters and stoves have prompted swift political backlash in recent years.
Republican lawmakers in 26 states have passed laws prohibiting gas bans. The nation’s first ban on natural gas hookups in new buildings — in Berkeley, California — was also repealed earlier this year, after a federal appeals court ruled it violated federal law.
The November election brought further setbacks: Voters rejected a tax on natural gas in Berkeley and passed an initiative to prohibit natural gas bans in Washington state.
“It’s really a bipartisan pushback against banning natural gas, because it’s affordable and reliable,” said Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the American Gas Association. “The people really turned out and spoke on behalf of their right to choose natural gas if they want it.”
But Sage Welch, founder of consulting firm Sunstone Strategies, said that the wins for natural gas in Washington state and Berkeley don’t necessarily reflect the public’s stance on the fossil fuel nationally
