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Berkeley Will Repeal Its Landmark Ban on Pure Fuel in New Houses

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It’s unclear whether or not different gasoline bans might be overturned. Some metropolis ordinances had been structured in a different way than Berkeley’s and will survive authorized scrutiny. Some California communities, together with San Luis Obispo and Santa Cruz, had already dropped efforts to ban gasoline hookups outright and are as an alternative pursuing measures to shift away from pure gasoline via constructing effectivity requirements.

“We’re inspired that the Metropolis of Berkeley has agreed to take steps to repeal the ordinance,” mentioned Jot Condie, president of the California Restaurant Affiliation. “Each metropolis and county in California that has handed an identical ordinance ought to observe their lead.”

Houses and buildings are chargeable for about 13 p.c of America’s planet-warming emissions, largely from pure gasoline burned in furnaces, sizzling water heaters, stoves, ovens and garments dryers. To scrub up that air pollution, states like California and New York have tried to encourage owners and builders to swap out their gasoline furnaces and stoves in favor of electrical warmth pumps and kitchen ranges.

In 2019, Berkeley’s Metropolis Council thrust the problem into the nationwide highlight by unanimously approving a ban on extending pure gasoline infrastructure into most newly constructed buildings. The transfer was broadly celebrated by environmentalists, and dozens of cities in California rapidly adopted their very own measures to limit gasoline use in new buildings.

A backlash quickly adopted, led by the pure gasoline business and native gasoline utilities anxious in regards to the menace to their earnings. Some cooks and restaurant house owners mentioned that they wouldn’t have the ability to prepare dinner as properly with out gasoline.

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