Environmental advocates are asking the Biden administration for a federal ban on new natural gas-powered heating appliances in homes and commercial buildings.
In a petition submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Tuesday, 26 health, environmental and consumer protection organizations asked the agency for the ban.
Environmental and health advocates have fought to bar natural gas appliances in homes and buildings at the city and state levels, citing health and climate impacts.
The natural gas industry has pushed back on such efforts, making consumer choice and cost arguments.
In their new petition, the 26 groups largely focused on health impacts. They specifically asked the EPA to prohibit new heating systems that emit nitrogen oxides, which have been linked to negative respiratory outcomes and are also a precursor to smog, which can worsen lung conditions like asthma.
While natural gas is more widely used, the groups are also seeking to prevent new oil-powered heating.
In the U.S., 47 percent of households use natural gas as their main heating fuel. Under the proposal, these households would not be required to make immediate changes.
But newly manufactured appliances wouldn’t be allowed to emit nitrogen oxides, effectively preventing the new manufacturing of fossil fuel-powered heating appliances.
The petition only applies to heating and does not seek to prevent the use of gas stoves, which many advocates have also sought to ban at the city and state levels.
Amneh Minkara, the Sierra Club’s Building Electrification Campaign deputy director, said the groups’ request fills a hole, addressing previously unregulated emissions.
“Regulations for other major sources like the industrial sector, the energy sector, the transportation sector, they’ve all been regulated by the EPA thus far, but a massive source of these emissions from the building sector have not,” Minkara said.
The natural gas industry argued against the petition.
“This proposal would impose undue burdens on consumers at every step of the process, including our most vulnerable communities,” the American Gas Association said in a statement.
The EPA did not comment on the substance of the petition, with spokesperson Shayla Powell saying in an email that the agency will review it and respond accordingly.