This Week's News for LA’s Best Buildings
Mayor Garcetti Announces That Over 60% LA’s Energy is Now Carbon-Free
Mayor Eric Garcetti today announced the completion of the Red Cloud Wind Project, a major renewable energy agreement that will provide enough clean energy to power roughly 222,300 homes in Los Angeles and boost the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s (LADWP) clean energy portfolio by 6% — allowing the department to receive over 60% of its power from carbon-free sources this year.
CA Building Decarbonization: What's Coming in 2022
In recent years, California has been a leader in the global effort to tackle climate change through a transition to clean, safe, and healthy all-electric buildings—but more is needed to meet the state’s fast-approaching climate goals. What steps has California taken toward building decarbonization so far, and what’s on the horizon for 2022?
Climate Change Is Seen as Most Worrying Threat to World Security
Climate change is seen as a bigger threat than war by a majority of people living in some of the world’s top economies, according to new data being presented to diplomats and military officials who convene Friday for a key security meeting in Germany.
The poll commissioned by the Munich Security Conference listed concern over global warming, habitat destruction and extreme weather as the top three risks named by 12,000 people surveyed globally in November. The results are notable since polling coincided with some of the first reports of escalating military tension between Russia and Ukraine.
These Nine Strategies Can Help Utilities Cut Energy Use and Emissions
Across the United States, utilities are giving customers incentives to buy equipment that may do a great job of cutting energy use but fall short in cutting emissions. How can these incentives optimize both? Nine strategies can help shift utility energy efficiency programs so they no longer focus solely on reducing energy use but instead also reduce planet-warming emissions, according to a report released today by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
Without Mapping Tools, Environmental Justice Investments Could Be Just a Shot in the Dark
As the United States moves to a clean electricity system, policymakers and utilities are prioritizing equity as a utility regulation goal to address our long history of environmental injustice (EJ). To guide this process, the federal government and several states have outlined approaches to an equitable transition, including investment targets and community engagement goals. However, without a method for targeting funding to those who need it most, tracking progress is impossible.
Tracking Progress on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Commercial Real Estate
Commercial real estate has long been considered an industry that is lacking in diversity. However, an increasing number of commercial real estate companies globally are taking steps to improve the statistics on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
“DEI is a very simple idea and most agree it is the right thing to do, but making it happen is more complicated,” Sonia Huntley, senior vice president, diversity equity and inclusion at Urban Land Institute, said during a January webinar. The webinar was moderated by Lisa Gordon, newly appointed chief operating officer for the City of Atlanta and a ULI global governing trustee.
Image by Newport Coast Media via Adobe Stock Photos