NYC weighs cutting off natural gas hookups for new buildings
ABC News
New York City lawmakers are poised to decide whether to prohibit most new buildings from using natural gas
NEW YORK -- New York City lawmakers are poised to decide Wednesday whether to prohibit most new buildings from using natural gas, a move that would make the nation's most populous city a showcase for a climate-change-fighting policy that has been both embraced and blocked around the country.
The measure is expected to pass the City Council and subsequently receive Mayor Bill de Blasio's signature. If all that happens, most construction projects submitted for approval after 2027 would have to use something other than gas or oil — such as electricity — for heating, hot water and cooking. Some smaller buildings would have to comply as early as 2024, while hospitals, commercial kitchens and some other facilities would be exempt.
Supporters see the proposal as a big and necessary move in a city where heating, cooling and powering buildings accounts for nearly 70% of emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases.
Although stoves and furnaces would use electricity generated partly from burning natural gas and other fossil fuels, backers say the change would boost momentum ahead of a statewide requirement to use 70% renewable energy by 2030, up from about 30% now.
