(Reuters) – New York City this week said it will join a growing list of U.S. cities banning natural gas hookups in new buildings.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday as part of his State of the City address that New York will “ban new fossil fuel connections in new construction by at least 2030.”
That follows moves to ban new hookups by several cities in California, including Berkeley and San Francisco, and in the U.S. Northeast as part of a local movement away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner forms of energy to stop global warming.
Municipal bans, however, have been met by legislation in several states, including Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi and Missouri that prevents cities from prohibiting new gas hookups. {nL1N2AY11T]
De Blasio said New York City will establish intermediate goals in the short-term and seek to ensure the ban does not negatively affect renters and low-income residents.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
