Chicago is considering a proposal that would require all new construction to be fossil fuel-free while also helping low-income residents swap methane gas-burning heating and hot-water appliances for electric ones. A suggestion to require new residential and commercial construction to be built without methane gas- or other fossil fuel-burning equipment (or face a “fossil fuel mitigation fee”) is included in a list of more than two-dozen recommendations released by Mayor Lori Lightfoot in consultation with outside groups. “The burning of fossil fuels is no longer a viable option,” Angela Tovar, the city’s chief sustainability officer, told the Sun-Times, noting that two-thirds of the city’s greenhouse gas pollution comes from buildings, and adding “this can’t be a situation where we leave anyone behind.” (Chicago Sun-Times)