Berkeley’s first-in-the-nation natural gas ban is dead. But is the battle over?

The natural gas debate heated up in the past year, after 2023 studies found gas stoves could emit indoor pollutants at levels worse than secondhand smoke. Photograph: Cavan Images/Alamy

Four years ago, Berkeley made history when it became the first city in the US to ban natural gas hookups in new buildings.

It was a natural step for the famously progressive California community, which was an early adopter of curbside recycling in the 1970s, banned styrofoam in 1988, and more recently led the charge to outlaw single-use packaging and plastics.