It’s bad news for municipal climate action: Taking natural gas out of the equation and switching to electric appliances is one of the most effective ways cities can tackle the climate crisis and lower their emissions, multiple experts told CNN. Twenty states with GOP-controlled legislatures have passed so-called “preemption laws” that prohibit cities from banning natural gas. Kathy Hochul vowing to pass a statewide law that would ban natural gas by 2027.īut other municipalities looking to take similar action are running into a brick wall. New York City became the largest US city to pass a version in 2021, with New York Gov. San Francisco passed its own ban in 2020. Other progressive cities followed suit with similar bans. No gas furnaces in new homes, the council said. In 2019, the city council in Berkeley, California, held a stunning vote: it would ban natural gas hookups in all new building construction to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the city’s impact on the climate crisis.
