With billions of dollars flowing to nonprofits dedicated to eliminating natural gas use, there are similar laws across the U.S. that have passed or are being considered.
The City of Berkeley, California, announced it is repealing its ban on natural-gas hookups in new construction. The law, passed in 2019, was the first of its kind in the United States. A federal court struck down the ordinance in April 2023, which created legal uncertainty for all the bans that followed Berkeley’s lead.
However, with billions of dollars flowing to nonprofits dedicated to eliminating natural gas use, there are similar laws across the U.S. that have passed or are being considered.
Berkeley and beyond
The Berkeley ordinance went into effect in 2020, and it required that new commercial and residential buildings, with some exceptions, use only electricity with no natural gas hookups. The goal was to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.