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Jan 01, 2024

New York state relights the gas stove wars

By LAMAR JOHNSON 03/16/2023 06:50 PM EDT Blue flames rise from the burner of a

By LAMAR JOHNSON

03/16/2023 06:50 PM EDT

Blue flames rise from the burner of a natural gas stove in Orange, Calif., in 2003. | David McNew/Getty Images

New York lawmakers are on track to enact a statewide ban on gas heating and appliances in new buildings, a major marker in a partisan fight over fossil fuels and consumer choice.

The state Assembly and Senate, controlled by Democrats, included different versions of a natural gas ban in their budget proposals that are expected to be reconciled, writes POLITICO's E&E News reporter David Iaconangelo. Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she supports a ban if it lands on her desk.

Albany's stand cuts through a haze of mud-slinging in Washington that erupted in January after one member of the five-person Consumer Product Safety Commission suggested the agency should consider a ban on gas stoves for public health reasons. (He also acknowledged he doesn't have the votes.) The resulting conservative firestorm prompted Republicans on Capitol Hill, Fox News host Tucker Carlson and politicians like Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to seize on the issue, accusing Democrats of seeking to outlaw a touchstone of American life — though fans of induction ranges might not mind.

The Energy Department later proposed its first-ever efficiency regulations for cooktops and ovens, including gas stoves — again, far short of an all-out ban.

But now, New York is looking to ban them for real.

It would be the first state to enact a full natural gas ban for new building developments — effectively requiring them to use electric heating and stoves.

Why this is happening: Northeastern states are wrestling with ways to drive down heat-trapping carbon emissions, including debating how far to go to switch away from fossil fuels. At the same time, questions exist about how requiring all-electric buildings might affect consumers’ energy bills, particularly for low-income residents.

Public health advocates point to the risks of breathing gas indoors. Methane emitted while burning gas is also one of the most potent contributors to global warming.

Since 2018, gas bans have been mostly successful in cities and counties.

New York City, along with Seattle; Berkeley, Calif.; Eugene, Ore.; and Montgomery County, Md., have all passed legislation limiting fossil fuel use in new buildings. Washington state got closest to electrification requirements in 2022, but that included a carve-out for natural gas as a backup.

On the other hand, 20 states have prohibited municipalities from imposing fossil fuel restrictions on builders.

On Wednesday, Bay Area regulators in California agreed to phase out sales of gas boilers and water heaters in existing buildings.

Amy Turner, senior fellow at Columbia University's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, says if New York's the first domino to fall, expect other states to follow suit.

"If New York state is able to pass a building electrification requirement at this scale," she said, "it will show other states around the country that this is not so scary, that it's politically possible, it's technically possible."

It's Thursday — Thank you for tuning into POLITICO's Power Switch. I’m your host, Lamar Johnson. Arianna will be back soon! Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments and questions to [email protected].

Today in POLITICO Energy's podcast: The energy team's Alex Guillén takes listeners through a new EPA pollution plan expected to further shrink coal power generation and the pushback it's facing.

Texas State Board of Education member Patricia Hardy, pictured in 2009, introduced rule changes last month to weaken climate lessons in textbooks. | AP Photo/Harry Cabluck

Culture wars get a new battlefield — The Texas State Board of Education changed its guidance to schools for how to teach climate science — urging schools to put an emphasis on the "positive" aspects of fossil fuels, Scott Waldman writes.

Critics say the guidelines will also pressure schools to frame the planet's warming climate as a result of natural temperature fluctuations, not human activities such as burning fossil fuels.

Scientists are concerned the guidance could give school officials pause when making textbook purchases, and that Texas’ size will affect publishers’ decisions nationwide.

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Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) departs a vote at the U.S. Capitol on March 16. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

Power struggles in BrusselsThe EU was driving fast toward signing a measure that would take gas-combusting cars off its road. Then Germany came in and scuttled the package last week, our European colleague Matthew Karnitschnig writes.

The episode has left the bloc's environmental policies up in the air and sparked questions about the balance of power inside the EU.

More from across the pondLooking to shore up the EU's place in the green energy transition, the bloc unveiled a legislative package today with clean energy incentives designed as its response to the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act, Antonia Zimmermann and Federica Di Sario write.

Like the Inflation Reduction Act, the European package aims to bring supply chains back to the continent and reduce reliance on China for green technology components. The package uses objectives like domestic production targets, rather than mandates.

Legal resolution on the horizon? Residents of a Texas community will learn soon if their continued exposure to pollution and Clean Air Act violations from an Exxon Mobil plant gives them standing to claim injury in their ongoing lawsuit.

Music in the defrost: Scientists are recording the sounds of ice as it unfreezes, giving climate change a soundtrack. Researchers and musicians are also using the sounds to find ways to potentially slow the thaw.

More evacuations on the way: Already dealing with one major landslide and more rain on the way, officials in California caution that the next storm will force even more residents from their homes.

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Members of a Cal Fire crew on March 8 clear snow off the roof of the town's post office after a series of storms in Crestline, Calif. | Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo

An estimated 146 million Americans face flood risks this spring, as record precipitation in the West this winter is expected to be joined by rains in the coming months and potentially overflow rivers and reservoirs, according to NOAA.

EPA expects to finish reviewing Louisiana's request for regulatory oversight of state carbon dioxide storage in May. The process has been fraught with delays, but Louisiana would be just the third state with such oversight should it succeed.

The energy permitting battle has two new challengers looking to craft a bipartisan overhaul bill. Enter Reps. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Scott Peters (D-Calif.).

That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.