Laid out in a court filing known as a “friend of the court” brief, the Biden administration’s position would mean residents in such buildings would no longer be able to use natural gas-powered stoves, contrary to past statements that the White House does not support a ban on the common household cooking appliance.
A three-judge panel under the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Berkeley’s ordinance in April, ruling that it violated the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which gives the federal government the authority to set energy efficiency standards. The ruling could jeopardize similar ordinances in dozens of other liberal cities in addition to New York, which became the first state in May to prohibit natural gas hookups in most new buildings.
Roughly 40% of U.S. households currently use the fossil fuel-powered appliances, but Democrats and climate activists have urged Americans to switch to the electric equivalent to slash methane emissions harmful to the environment and respiratory health. “The ordinance prohibits the installation of certain energy infrastructure in new construction. It thereby affects, indirectly, the circumstances in which some products may be used in some locations,” the Justice and Energy Department officials wrote.