Electrification of buildings
Not every community has major fossil fuel infrastructure like refineries or pipelines, but most jurisdictions have buildings that run on fossil fuels and can be electrified.
Buildings are one of the leading sources of climate warming emissions from cities. To combat this, a growing number of jurisdictions are passing policies to power buildings with electricity rather than methane gas and other fossil fuels. Electrifying space and water heating and ideally all appliances protects local health and safety and global climate. Many policies affect new construction. Some cities, such as New York City, are going even further and finding creative ways to responsibly phase fossil fuels out of existing buildings as well.
The health impacts of methane gas in our homes are becoming increasingly clear. A growing body of research is showing that despite being dubbed “natural” by the fossil fuel industry, using gas for cooking is hazardous to human health. Methane gas is especially harmful to kids, with children growing up in homes with gas stoves suffering from asthma symptoms at the same rate as children who live with a smoker.
BRIEFING NOTE: Why getting off methane gas is right for communities
Read nowExamples of electrification policies
Berkeley, California
In July of 2019, Berkeley unanimously voted to adopt a "first in the nation" ordinance that prohibited gas in all new construction – kicking off a wave of cities that would also pursue building electrification policies. Berkeley’s gas ordinance was unique because it did not go through the traditional reach code route, which requires approval from the California Energy Commission (CEC). Instead, Berkeley used its city authority to phase out new gas hookups on the grounds of public health and safety.
New York City, New York
In 2019, New York City passed the "Climate Mobilization Act", dubbed by proponents as New York City's own Green New Deal and known now as Local Law 97. Amongst other things, the law requires large buildings to be increasingly more energy efficient, cracking down on the largest piece of New York's carbon footprint by gradually phasing out fossil fuels in buildings and creating thousands of good jobs within the city.
Montreal, Quebec
In 2023, Montreal became the biggest city in Québec and in Canada — and the country’s first cold-climate municipality — to phase out gas in all new small buildings and limit it in large buildings.
The three categories of SAFE policies
Local government resolutions
Non-binding resolutions and Action Plans that explicitly call for the phase out of fossil fuel infrastructure or endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Protection from fossil fuel infrastructure
Policies that block or severely restrict the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure such as refineries, pipelines, storage terminals, and gas stations.
Electrification of buildings and transport
Policies that phase out fossil fuels by requiring new buildings or vehicles to be all-electric. This can also include policies to get fossil fuels out of existing buildings.
