SF considers natural gas ban in major building revamps
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San Francisco is moving to eliminate natural gas in buildings that undergo major revamps as part of a broader push to curb carbon emissions.
Why it matters: San Francisco can't meet its 2040 net-zero goal without phasing out gas use in buildings, which accounts for 44% of the city's carbon emissions.
State of play: The legislation, which would go into effect next July if passed, expands upon the city's decarbonization efforts by building on an existing ban on natural gas in new construction that took effect in 2020.
What they're saying: "We can't build the San Francisco of the future with fuel from the past," Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman, who co-sponsored the legislation, said in a statement.
Zoom in: Major renovations are defined as projects that involve remodeling more than two-thirds of a building's walls or ceilings and structural supports that carry more than 30% of the building's floors or ceilings.
- Renovations involving the replacement or installation of new heating and water systems must also comply.
By the numbers: Nearly 1 million square feet of renovations — mostly residential — would be affected each year, Cyndy Comerford, head of climate programs at the city's Environment Department, told Axios.
Caveat: The proposal excludes individual gas appliance replacements and small-scale renovations.
- Other exemptions include restaurants and commercial food service, office-to-residential conversions through 2031 and affordable housing, which gets a one-year delay followed by a flexible four-year compliance period.
What we're watching: Some critics worry that some requirements in the legislation could deter property owners from making critical upgrades that would trigger the gas ban.
Threat level: Gas appliances such as stoves have been linked to higher risk of respiratory problems due to emitted pollutants such as benzenes.
- They also increase the risk of fire during earthquakes and take longer to get back up and running after one occurs, Comerford said.
The big picture: If passed, 45,000 metric tons of carbon emissions — or about 1% of the city's annual total — could be reduced under the measure, Comerford said.
What's next: The board is expected to take a final vote on the measure sometime in September, per Joseph Piasecki, a spokesperson at the Environment Department.