San Francisco Supervisors To Introduce Municipal Building Natural Gas Ban
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Two of San Francisco's supervisors will introduce legislation that would eliminate natural gas in all new municipal construction and major renovations, according to District 5 Supervisor Vallie Brown's office.
This comes after Berkeley this month passed a similar ordinance that bans the installation of natural gas lines in new buildings, becoming the first city to pass a rule of this kind.
Brown and primary cosponsor District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman will introduce the legislation in September in hopes it can become effective by Jan. 1.
According to Brown's office, not only would the proposed natural gas ban reduce emissions in new city buildings to zero, it would also demonstrate the city's commitment to leading the transition to an all-electric future.
"When we think of greenhouse gases, we usually think of cars, but buildings generate a whopping 44 percent of San Francisco's greenhouse gas emissions," Brown said. "We'll never achieve our net zero carbon climate goals until all our buildings go all-electric."
Since municipal buildings are already powered by greenhouse gas-free hydroelectricity, eliminating natural gas would make all new and rehabilitated municipal buildings emissions-free.
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