New standards from the Bay Area Air District would have a massive effect on carbon emissions and save hundreds of lives from air pollution. They now face heavy industry opposition and misinformation, and we need all the help we can get to support these standards before and at the May 6 board meeting.

Where Things Stand:

Our home gas water heaters and furnaces emit a huge amount of greenhouse gases and enough other pollution (PM2.5, NOx etc.) to kill scores of people every year in the Bay Area. The greenhouse gas emissions alone account for over 10% of our entire emissions, so stopping them is one of our biggest opportunities to fight for the future of the planet.

In 2023, the Bay Area Air District adopted the nation’s first standards to ensure that when gas water heaters and furnaces need replacement, families transition to clean, efficient electric heat pumps. 

The first rule, to phase out gas-powered water heaters, is due to start in January 2027. Since 2023, the Board has been working with outside experts and stakeholders to make sure the rules are feasible and equitable, and have recently proposed reasonable exemptions to do just that. 

Emerging Opposition:

Well-funded opposition is emerging from some realtor and business groups, possibly with backing from oil and gas interests. They are spreading extreme misinformation on the costs of transition online. One group, the Bay Area Council, is accused of identity theft to generate faked opposition emails to the air district in this SF Chronicle expose. Similar faked emails were used to bombard the South Coast Air District and cause them to abandon their planned clean air rules. Some board members are also calling for an indefinite delay in application of the standards, so we need all the help we can get to support the board’s moving forward.

Next Milestone: May 6 Board Meeting

The May 6 Air District Board meeting is a major milestone. The new standards will be up for discussion, and it is expected that some members will try to force a vote to delay or abandon them. We are asking members of our Bay Area community to attend the meeting and provide public comment.

The Board meeting will be taking place at 375 Beale St. Suite 800, San Francisco, CA at 10am.

Take Action!

Contact the Board

Individual letters to board members can have a big impact, and several on the board have already remarked on the impact of individual letters they have received. Please consider writing to the board members from your county, who represent you, or (better still!) to all of the board members. Individual letters are a little more trouble to write, but have a lot more impact. Here are names and emails of board members, and here are some talking points you can use.

You can also use our Action Network tool here to write a letter to your county’s Air District Board Members:

Alameda County  | Contra Costa County | Marin County

Napa County | San Francisco County | San Mateo County

Santa Clara County | Solano County | Sonoma County

Elected Officials Support Letter

Over 60 local elected officials already signed a letter of support, a powerful statement from those who represent many thousands of us.Check to see if your local elected officials (county supervisors and city council members) have already signed and if not, please encourage them to sign it via this form!

Stay Updated

Resources and updates are available at climate-fixes.org/BAAD/ and bayareacleanair.com.

Please share this email and the letter with your neighbors, families, and friends! Together, we can help the Bay Area lead the country in clean air and tackling climate change!

We need your help to protect clean air in the Bay Area!