LOS ANGELES – Mayor Karen Bass today announced recent progress in the fight against climate change following Climate Week NYC. The Mayor highlighted efforts taken since she was sworn in to further electrify our transportation system, decarbonize power generation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from commercial and residential buildings.
“Just last month, we were faced with a tropical storm in Los Angeles, the first in decades, which was a stark reminder that we must continue to combat the climate crisis,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “I will continue to lead Los Angeles to a new era of sustainability that supports frontline communities while making major investments in energy efficiency and creating thousands of good-paying jobs in the process. There is still much work to be done to ensure we continue to make accelerated progress towards our clean air goals and I look forward to continuing the work with our community stakeholders and elected partners to deliver on the promise of a green Los Angeles.”
Electrifying the Transportation System
In August, Los Angeles launched the first 100% electric full size street sweeper in the United States.
The City has installed nearly 100 Level 2 chargers and 12 Fast Chargers throughout Los Angeles.
In line with the City’s efforts to reduce carbon emissions, more than 25% of new cars sold in Los Angeles County are Electric Vehicles.
The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) added 18 electric DASH buses across Los Angeles this year. The fleet continues to grow.
The City has put out a Request for Proposal to create a 100% public EV truck charging depot at the Port of Los Angeles expected to be in service by 2025.
Increasing Energy Affordability with Energy Efficiency and Building in a Cleaner Way
There are more than 100 projects and 9,500 housing units in the pipeline in the Comprehensive Affordable Multifamily Retrofits (CAMR) Program that LADWP created to support low-income, multifamily property owners and residents who want to expand their energy efficiency and install local solar on their rooftops.
LADWP relaunched the Cool LA program, which through rebates, is designed to help Angelenos better manage the impacts of extreme heat caused by climate change, especially for older adults, income-qualified families, and those living in underserved communities where hot weather has an especially significant impact with nearly 5,000 AC units and more than $1,100,000 in rebates.
LADWP launched the Zero by Design construction program that encourages high efficiency buildings for commercial and high-rise residential projects.
LADWP is providing $4.6 million in community emission reduction grant programs that fund the installation of cool roofs, solar arrays, electric vehicles and charging stations.
Progress Towards Running On 100% Clean Power
LADWP became the first municipal utility to establish science-based targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction as work continues to limit climate change throughout the world.
LADWP applied for approximately $825 million in federal funding to advance clean energy goals to further electrify our transportation system, decarbonize power generation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from commercial and residential buildings.
LADWP completed six major transmission infrastructure upgrades that will allow for Los Angeles to import more renewable power.
Just this year, Los Angeles added 35 megawatts of rooftop solar power, which now totals 665 megawatts of new solar power installed – that’s the equivalent of 77,000 homes and businesses participating in LADWP solar programs. Los Angeles remains a leader in solar energy.
LADWP launched the Commercial Energy Storage 2 Grid (CES2G) Pilot, which allows for large energy storage and Elective Vehicle owners to provide energy storage services.
LADWP continues to work on the Green Meadows project, which will serve as a resiliency hub for the community of Watts. The project will feature solar, energy storage, and EV chargers and will provide grid resiliency and a cooling center during heat storm events. The estimated project completion is August of 2024.