The New York City Council voted yesterday to prohibit natural gas hookups in most new constructions, according to Reuters. The ban will play a huge role in reducing the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to CNBC. Buildings generate over half of New York City’s carbon output and nearly 40 percent of carbon emissions nationwide.

“This bill was about prioritizing people over profits and properties,” Councilmember Alicka Ampry-Samuel, who spearheaded the legislation, said at a rally on Wednesday. “We need to make sure we are protecting and saving our environment.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio is now expected to sign the bill, which will take effect at the end of 2023 for the majority of new buildings under seven stories, according to NPR. The measure will then apply to taller structures four years later. Certain buildings are exempt, including commercial kitchens, hospitals, crematoriums, and laundromats.

“If the largest city in America can take this critical step to ban gas use, any city can do the same,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “This is how to fight back against climate change on the local level and guarantee a green city for generations to come.”

Legislation to expand the ban is also in the works. Democratic state lawmakers Sen. Brian Kavanagh and Assemblymember Emily Gallagher have proposed mandating that buildings erected in the state of New York after 2023 be entirely electric. If passed, New York would become the first state nationwide to prohibit natural gas in new constructions.

Salt Lake City, Denver, and at least 42 cities in California have already enacted similar measures to reduce the use of natural gas.