Photo: Getty Images Europe
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles City Council will consider two motions today aimed at achieving 100% renewable energy by 2035 and developing a long-term hiring plan for an anticipated 9,500 “green'' jobs.
The 2035 deadline would be a decade earlier than the city's current goal. The motions, which were introduced by Councilmen Paul Krekorian and Mitch O'Farrell, advanced out of the Energy, Climate Change, Environmental Justice and River Committee on Aug. 19.
Citing the recent United Nations report that warned of a “code red'' condition for the worldwide environment due to climate change, O'Farrell, who chairs the committee, said it was urgent that Los Angeles set aggressive goals for renewable energy.
“Transitioning Los Angeles into a 100% renewable energy future by 2035 isn't an option, it's a work plan for a world in trouble,'' O'Farrell said after the committee advanced the motions.
The first motion would instruct the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to create a long-term hiring and workforce plan focused on “ensuring project labor agreements, prevailing wage and targeted hiring requirements.'' It also would increase hiring from neighborhoods that are “environmentally and economically disadvantaged.''
The second motion would instruct the utility to prepare a plan to achieve 100% carbon-free energy by 2035 in a way that is equitable and minimally impacts customers.
“If we do not take decisive action, the temperature of the planet will rise well above 1.5 degrees in the coming decades,'' Krekorian said. “In the face of this existential crisis, it is imperative that we implement the historic plan to convert Los Angeles to clean and renewable energy -- LA100 -- by 2035. Our partners at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power are already committed to meeting this accelerated timeline.''
On March 24, the city released the LA100 Study, which found that the DWP -- the nation's largest municipal utility -- can reach the city's goal by 2045 or sooner if it rapidly deploys wind and solar power, electrical storage and other technologies.
The study was conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in partnership with the DWP and USC. It is one of the largest studies of its kind conducted by the federal government.
Researchers noted that the city can dramatically reduce its greenhouse gases, from 76% to 99% less than 2020 levels, by 2030 if officials begin to work toward these goals now. The study provided pathways to reach these goals, and each one has a similar trajectory with 73% to 92% of renewable energy generation coming from wind and solar resources.
The study was initiated by a motion introduced in 2016 by Krekorian and Councilman Mike Bonin.
Copyright 2021, City News Service, Inc.