To fight climate change, and now Russia, too, Zurich turns off natural gas

European officials are debating whether they can stop buying natural gas imports from Russia. Many say it can't be done. But the biggest city in Switzerland — Zurich — is already taking ambitious steps to wean itself off gas. It's shutting down the flow of gas to whole parts of the city.

Zurich started down this path a decade ago to save money and fight climate change. The plan provoked controversy¹ at first. Today, as the city's residents install alternatives to gas heating, there appears to be broad support for the switch — in part, because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. About half of Switzerland's natural gas supply comes from Russia.

"Attitudes have changed once again, dramatically," says Rainer Sch?ne, a spokesman for Energie 360°, Zurich's city-owned gas utility. "Today, it's clear. People want to, and have to, move away from fossil gas."

Zurich's experience may offer lessons to other cities around the world that are encouraging residents to switch away from natural gas appliances but are not, so far, shutting down the infrastructure² that delivers it.

Zurich's move to abandon gas was driven in part by economics. The city wanted to expand a "district heating" system that uses excess heat from a waste incinerator on the edge of the city, a modern plant outfitted³ with the latest pollution control technology. The incinerator — supplemented by other facilities that burn wood or gas — heats water, and that hot water or steam circulates through underground pipes to homes and businesses that tap it as a heat source.

It made little sense for the city to maintain both hot water and gas pipelines⁴ side by side, says Zurich's energy commissioner⁵, Silvia Banfi Frost. "It's quite clear that we don't want to have parallel networks for supplying heat," she says.

In 2011, city officials announced that they would start shutting down gas service within five years in one part of the city that's well-served by district heating. This area, historically dominated by industry and apartment buildings, is home to 93,000 people. But protests erupted. The plan "was indeed a shock" to many people who relied on gas, says Sch?ne.

Residents argued that they'd received too little notice and that they were being forced to buy costly⁶ replacements⁷ for their gas appliances. So officials backed off, promising⁸ to compensate⁹ people who had to replace gas furnaces that were less than 20 years old. Zurich also delayed the start of the gas shutdown to 2021. Now, however, it's underway.

Some residents of Zurich, especially those in single-family homes, can't easily connect to the district heating system and have to find alternatives. Ernst Danner is a member of Zurich's City Parliament from the centrist Evangelical People's Party. He lives in a single-family home, and he installed an electric heat pump that draws warmth from water circulating through pipes that go deep underground. It cost him just over $40,000 after tax breaks and city subsidies¹⁰, but it also cut his heating bill in half. Over the lifetime of the system, he says, "I pay a bit more, but it's not that much more, and it's more ecological¹¹."

Many of his neighbors, Danner says, have installed less-costly "air-source" heat pumps that draw heat from the air outside. "Those I know are very happy with their heat pumps. It's very good!" he says.

Zurich is expanding its district heating system, which delivers hot water and steam through underground pipes. With more buildings relying on this system for heat, there's less demand for natural gas.

Mohamed Ali, the chef at a Lebanese restaurant called SimSim, isn't quite as pleased. "Actually, gas is nice," he says. "You know, to cook, to feel, to give power."

Ali is replacing his stoves with electric induction¹² versions. Unlike old-style electric stoves, induction allows precise control of cooking, similar to gas. These stoves work fine, Ali says, but they cost $40,000, and for him, few city subsidies were available. "I was so angry, because you have to pay a lot of money, and the city is not helping," he says.

Last year, when the appointed time arrived to shut down gas service to the first neighborhood, city officials had to delay it for several months because a few people weren't yet ready. One landlord, in particular, simply refused to replace his gas furnace with new equipment to provide heat to his tenants¹³. "He just didn't want to take care of the problem," Sch?ne says. "We had to visit the landlord himself, in his workplace, and tell him how serious this is."

Year by year, Zurich plans to expand its district heating system and shut down gas service in additional neighborhoods. Within 20 years, according to the long-term plan, the burning of what city officials call "fossil gas" will end. Gas pipelines may remain in the historic city center, Banfi Frost says, but she expects they will carry biogas captured from animal manure¹⁴ or similar sources.

Rainer Sch?ne, from Energie 360°, says most residents of Zurich now support the switch, mainly because of concerns about the effects of greenhouse emissions¹⁵ from burning fossil fuels. "There is a broad consensus¹⁶ in Zurich that [gas] is not, and cannot, be the future," he says.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has only strengthened those views. "I think we should stop buying gas from Russia," Danner says. "We would have a supply problem, but we could survive without it."

The trail that Zurich is blazing could become a guide to other cities around the world. Many are encouraging people to switch from gas to electric appliances, but primarily on an individual basis.

"We are very much promoting switching from natural gas," says Kerrie Romanow, director of environmental services for the city of San Jose, Calif. But she says the city is focused on the appliances that consume the most gas. "We're not so worried about your gas cooktop, or your gas clothes dryer¹⁷, as we are about heating and water heating, because those are much bigger uses," she says.

If San Jose succeeds in this effort, though, it could end up in a situation similar to Zurich's, with an expensive gas system that serves fewer and fewer customers. The financial burden of maintaining that system could fall on low-income residents who are least able to pay for new electric replacements, like heat pumps. In addition, aging pipelines are prone¹⁸ to leaks, releasing methane¹⁹, a powerful greenhouse gas that is the main ingredient in natural gas, into the air.

Romanow says it would be up to the gas company — in this case Pacific Gas and Electric — to decide when shutting down gas pipelines makes economic sense.

A spokesperson for PG&E, Ari Vanrenen, declined to say whether the company is thinking about such a possibility. In an email to NPR, he wrote that "a multi-faceted approach is needed to cost-effectively achieve California's greenhouse-gas reduction objectives. This includes both electrification²⁰ and decarbonizing the gas system with renewable natural gas and hydrogen."

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

3 outfitted   

v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They outfitted for the long journey. 他们为远途旅行准备装束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They outfitted him with artificial legs. 他们为他安了假腿。 来自辞典例句

4 pipelines   

管道( pipeline的名词复数 )； 输油管道； 在考虑（或规划、准备） 中； 在酿中

参考例句：

• The oil is carried to the oil refinery by pipelines. 石油通过输油管输送到炼油厂。
• The oil carried in pipelines. 石油用管道输送。

5 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

6 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

7 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网

8 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

9 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

10 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

12 induction   

n.感应，感应现象

参考例句：

• His induction as a teacher was a turning point in his life.他就任教师工作是他一生的转折点。
• The magnetic signals are sensed by induction coils.磁信号由感应线圈所检测。

13 tenants   

n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者

参考例句：

• A number of tenants have been evicted for not paying the rent. 许多房客因不付房租被赶了出来。
• Tenants are jointly and severally liable for payment of the rent. 租金由承租人共同且分别承担。

14 manure   

n.粪，肥，肥粒；vt.施肥

参考例句：

• The farmers were distributing manure over the field.农民们正在田间施肥。
• The farmers used manure to keep up the fertility of their land.农夫们用粪保持其土质的肥沃。

15 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

16 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

17 dryer   

n.干衣机，干燥剂

参考例句：

• He bought a dryer yesterday.他昨天买了一台干燥机。
• There is a washer and a dryer in the basement.地下室里有洗衣机和烘干机。

18 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

19 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

20 electrification   

n.充电，电气化；起电；电化；带电

参考例句：

• Electrification of the countryside--yes, that, too, is impressive. 是的。农村电气化也是了不起的事。 来自演讲部分
• After electrification, it will readily stick to a wall or a ceiling. 起电后，它立即吸附到墙壁上或天花板上。 来自辞典例句