(Credit: Pixabay)All new or major retrofitted municipal buildings in Los Angeles will be 100% carbon free moving forward.
Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti's executive directive targets building pollution as part of a larger set of new measures related to LA's sustainability plan. The announcement follows a wave of other cities like San Francisco and Seattle, which have committed all new government buildings to be all-electric or 100% emissions-free.
Los Angeles is now the largest city to target climate-warming emissions from buildings. While not going as far as the 26 other cities in California that have passed legislation encouraging all-electric homes and buildings or explicitly phasing gas out, yesterday's announcement signals momentum in the right direction.
The full list of 26 cities and counties (as of Feb. 11, 2020) in California that have adopted building electrification codes to meet climate targets and to improve health and safety includes:
According to the National Resources Defense Council, Mayor Garcetti also committed the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to improve access to its clean energy programs specifically for low-income, affordable housing, and multifamily properties. Los Angeles faces dual crises of housing affordability and growing climate change impacts, such as severe wildfires.
