Good News on Climate Action from SAFE Cities at Stand.earth

We all need some good news right now, and boy are we delighted to be able to serve some up. If you, like us, could use a reminder that victories for the people and planet are not only still possible but happening every day, check out this round up of inspiring climate action and recent wins from the U.S. and Canada. Read on for several stories about local policies to cut pollution from buildings (the source of over 40% of global climate pollution) and even one on prohibiting new gas stations.

California Part I

In a trailblazing move, the City Council in Berkeley, passed a policy this month that will cut air and climate pollution from existing homes. SAFE Cities has been working with local government leaders, local advocates, and our Stand community to pass the policy. It’s the first to leverage the sale of a home to cut pollution, ensuring that when a home changes hands, it has modern upgrades that also will help lower energy bills, and improve health and safety during extreme weather events. Check out the KQED story here and our press release here.

Berkeley kicked off the building electrification movement in 2019 by passing a policy requiring new construction to be all-electric. This leadership inspired a movement and similar policies soon passed across California, across the U.S., and in Canada. But in a shocking move, Berkeley’s policy was tossed out when a court case apparently funded by a gas utility led to a loss at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. That decision led to policies being rescinded or not enforced across the U.S., copycat lawsuits beyond the Ninth Circuit, and a chill on the whole building electrification movement. But local government leaders, attorneys, and advocates did not stop working and they found new approaches. Multiple cities are now passing new policies and Berkeley has provided a new approach they can use. And Berkeley’s policy, because it applies to existing buildings rather than new construction, will have an even bigger air and climate pollution impact than the policy that got thrown out.

British Columbia

Metro Vancouver Regional District, home to over half of B.C.’s population, plays a critical role in fighting climate change – especially since a quarter of the region’s climate pollution comes from burning gas in buildings, something the District has the unique authority to regulate. In early 2025, a small but vocal group on the Metro Vancouver board tried to dismantle regional climate coordination. But they underestimated the public. Together, SAFE Cities at Stand.earth and our friends at Dogwood mobilized to submit over 4,000 letters opposing the proposed climate cuts, forcing the District to issue a special report just to account for the massive public pushback. Thanks to this outpouring of support, the plan to gut Metro Vancouver’s climate program was shut down.

Undeterred, the same board members tried again – this time by attempting to defund climate action. We quickly rallied once again, with community members and over 100 business leaders speaking out. Our unified message: slashing climate efforts is bad for both people and the economy. And once again, people power won. In the end, climate cuts amounted to less than 0.5% of the $364 million trimmed from the regional budget. The message is clear: Metro Vancouver residents won’t let fossil fuel interests dictate our future – we’re standing strong for bold, effective climate action.

In other good news, in Spring 2023, the B.C. government introduced the Zero Carbon Step Code (ZCSC), setting clear limits on building emissions with a goal of zero-emission buildings across the province by 2030. But communities weren’t waiting around. So far, at least 33 local governments – representing 45% of B.C.’s population – have taken the lead, committing to low or zero-carbon construction by 2026 or earlier. Thousands of members of the Stand community added your voices in support at every step along the way – if you sent an email to your mayor and council, made a phone call or even showed up to speak at Council, please know that your advocacy was so important in building the political will for this climate leadership.

The wave of municipal action has triggered aggressive pushback from gas lobby groups, who ramped up efforts in the fall of 2024 to stall progress in Richmond and Vancouver. In Richmond, despite strong opposition from former right-leaning MLAs, pro-gas lobby groups, and gas industry representatives, the community rallied. Healthcare workers, educators, builders, youth, and climate advocates filled council chambers and flooded inboxes with support. In a tight 5–4 vote, Richmond City Council upheld its accelerated electrification plan for new buildings, proving that community pressure can beat even the loudest lobbyists.

Inspired by Richmond’s win, grassroots organizers mobilized for Vancouver and thanks to Stand.earth’s community and our allies, the gas industry was handed another devastating defeat in Vancouver. With momentum building, attention turned to Maple Ridge – a city long overdue for bold climate action. In February 2025, after a year and a half of planning, Maple Ridge staff proposed an ambitious ZCSC policy to cut 99% of climate pollution from new buildings by summer 2025. Once again, this community showed up in force. Health experts, businesses, and everyday residents packed city hall, submitted letters, and made your voices heard. Council responded with a unanimous vote in favor of the policy. These back-to-back wins in Richmond, Vancouver, and Maple Ridge prove that when people organize, show up, and speak out, we can drive real climate action – and stop powerful gas interests in their tracks.

Oregon and Washington

Two great developments on safer and healthier buildings in Washington and Oregon. A fossil fuel industry-backed ballot initiative that narrowly passed in Washington (I-2066) – that would have severely hindered local and state efforts to accelerate buildings moving to high-efficiency electric appliances – was found unconstitutional. An appeal is likely, but this is a great development.

Also, Ashland, Oregon, passed a carbon pollution impact fee for new homes, incentivizing building with all-electric appliances. SAFE Cities worked with local Stand community members as well as local advocates and local government leaders to pass the policy. This is the first actionable policy passed in Oregon since the Ninth Circuit decision on Berkeley’s policy chilled the building electrification movement (see California Part I above). Cities across Oregon are taking note and we’re excited to help them pass similar policies.

Quebec

In 2023, the City of Montreal and the smaller communities of Prévost, Candiac, and Mont-Saint-Hilaire took the first bold steps of passing local building bylaws to prevent the use of polluting gas systems in new buildings. In 2024, the entire Metropolitan Community of Montreal consisting of 82 municipalities and covering over half of Quebec’s population passed a similar resolution requiring new builds use non-fossil fuel heating systems (with some exceptions).

This led to a commitment late last year by the Quebec provincial government to phase out “natural” gas from new and existing buildings by 2040. The official announcement stated the plan was “based on existing municipal bylaws,” suggesting it was the proliferation of municipal green building policies that propelled the province to make such green policies consistent across the province.

This shows the power of bottom-up climate action! And it proves to us that our municipal advocacy and those of our partners – this win was driven in large part by our friends at the Sortons le Gaz coalition – can have big ripple effects, pushing higher levels of government to implement stronger policies with even greater impacts on pollution levels in Canada.

New York

In 2021, SAFE Cities supported the work of local partners on a policy to limit air pollution from gas-burning appliances in new buildings in New York City. When opponents of policies to cut air and climate pollution from buildings sued Berkeley over its policy (see California Part I above), one of the copycat lawsuits, using the same legal argument, was against the NYC policy. But good news came in March when the U.S. District Court for the Southern District dismissed the argument and upheld NYC’s policy. An appeal is likely, but this is good news for New York and ambitious climate action by local governments across the country.

We’ve also been working to get NY HEAT passed. Stand.earth community members like you have done a great job speaking up for NY HEAT. We have also helped local government leaders call for this critical policy. Working with our New York local government leaders network, Renewable Heat Now, Frack Action, and Elected Officials to Protect America, we got over 120 local government leaders from around the state signing onto a letter to legislators in support of NY HEAT.

Ontario

Momentum is growing for cutting air and climate pollution from buildings in Ontario. Fourteen communities have now adopted Green Development Standards (GDS), which among other environmental measures, set the stage for limiting gas use in new buildings.

But this progress is under threat. A developer lobby has mounted a legal challenge against Toronto’s standards. The result of the court case will determine whether all municipalities in Ontario can use GDS to limit the use of gas furnaces and boilers in new homes.

SAFE Cities is fighting back, defending the legitimate powers of municipalities in Ontario to implement green building policies. If you’re in Ontario, join us in calling on the board members of the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) to drop the case.

There is also a very exciting opportunity in Toronto to pass a strong policy to cut emissions from existing buildings, which would make Toronto the second city in the country to pass one after Vancouver, BC. This local rule would also lead to lower energy bills and healthier homes. SAFE Cities is working with leaders and groups in the city to ensure the bylaw passes when it comes to a vote at the City Council.

California Part II

Climate leaders secured yet another victory in Santa Rosa, California, and it marks a real milestone. Back in 2022, the city of Santa Rosa prohibited construction of new gas stations due to the incredible grassroots activism from the Coalition Opposing New Gas Station (CONGAS), which also helped pass policies in cities across Sonoma County and at the County itself. When Santa Rosa passed its policies, a proposed gas station at 874 North Wright Road had already begun the permitting processes – it could be built if the planning commission approved it.

Over the past three years, CONGAS continued pressuring Santa Rosa to deny the outstanding project. CONGAS noted how permitting the Wright Road gas station would be inconsistent with the city’s zoning code and general plan.

And CONGAS, with support from many local advocates and organizations including SAFE Cities, ultimately prevailed this past month. On April 10th, the city formally denied the conditional use permit for Wright Road facility. With this victory secured, it’s likely Santa Rosa’s last ever gas station has already been built.

 

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Whew – you read the whole thing! Thank you for celebrating these victories with us, and for everything that you did to make them possible. If you’d like to go one step further, please consider making a donation to support the work of SAFE Cities for communities and climate.