On Friday, May 27th, The Los Angeles City Council voted to ban most gas appliances/hookups in new construction, a huge win for clean air, and the climate. Los Angeles joins 54 cities phasing out most gas in California. This policy will require all new residential and commercial buildings in Los Angeles to be built to achieve zero-carbon emissions.
The policy introduced by city councilwoman Nithya Raman will require new construction to be all-electric, and emission-free. This building electrification policy will slash the indoor air pollution Angelenos experience in a city where freeways, air pollution, and oil drilling are negatively impacting public health.
“Passing this ordinance is another great step towards lowering pollution, stopping our reliance on dirty sources of power, and fighting climate change,” said Aura Vasquez, Climate Action Committee Chair. “Sierra Club Angeles Chapter leaders have been working towards this goal for years. We are excited to be part of the movement that pushed Los Angeles to a more sustainable and fossil fuel-free future.”
We are thankful to our coalition partners, and LA city elected officials for prioritizing this climate policy. We also want to thank our Sierra Club volunteers, members, and community for making time to submit comments and testify at city council meetings to raise their voices and concerns in the urgency to act to combat climate change.
As one of the largest cities in the country, we are thankful for LA’s climate leadership and modeling strong climate action. LA County, the largest county in California by population, has similarly introduced a building decarbonization motion in March 2022 and we are looking forward to seeing some action on this motion in the summer.