Greenpeace

It's an exciting time to be a climate activist in Los Angeles, and right now Greenpeace is a part of a larger community in the City of Angels that is pushing for a coal-free future.

It's unfortunate that many Angelenos don't know that 39% of our power comes from dirty and dangerous coal-fired power that we import from Arizona and Utah.  In fact, Los Angeles gets more power from coal than from any other source!  What IS fortunate is that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is currently in the midst of finalizing their Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which is a roadmap for how our city will be powered for the next 20 years.  

California continues to be a leader on bold action to stop catastrophic climate change.  Just this last fall, Californians overwhelmingly voted to preserve our state’s climate change law, AB 32, in the face of a ballot initiative funded by oil companies that would have essentially taken away our air pollution and climate change regulations.  Los Angeles is the second largest city in the country with a history of incredible activism and a track record for doing the right thing.  For this reason, Greenpeace and our allies had great hopes for the LADWP to release an IRP that would set bold goals for transitioning our city off of coal-fired power by 2020, and lead a charge on ambitious renewable energy standards and efficiency programs that would create more local jobs.  

Instead, the IRP released by the LADWP a few weeks ago failed to live up to such a vision.  Just yesterday, Greenpeace and a growing coalition of 13 other groups including the Sierra Club, the Los Angeles Business Council, the Natural Resources Defense Council, California Interfaith Power and Light, Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles, and Communities for a Better Environment released a letter to LADWP Acting General Manager Austin Beutner expressing dissatisfaction with the IRP in its current form.  The IRP released late November includes a timeline that keeps our ties to our Utah coal plant until 2027, which is simply not ambitious enough if Los Angeles is to be a leader on climate change.  In addition to preserving our dependence on coal, the IRP backtracks on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s goal of a 40% renewable portfolio standard by 2020, and the LADWP decreased its annual energy efficiency target.  Fortunately, our letter picked up some coverage in today’s Los Angeles Times story about the IRP.

Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti

The LADWP’s Integrated Resource Plan is a complex and changing document, and fortunately there will be opportunities in the upcoming year to work with stakeholders across the city to strengthen this document.  Ultimately, the Los Angeles City Council has the power to determine what sort of plan is adopted, and we are counting on our city leaders to call for a coal-free LA by 2020.  Back in October, Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti stood with us at our “Rally to Kick Coal and Oil Out of LA” and pledged to be a leader on kicking coal out of our city.  Just last week, a team of Greenpeace and Sierra Club activists held a lunchtime rally outside of LA City Councilmember Paul Koretz’s office.  Our friendly crew delivered a cake and over 6,000 petitions to Coucilmember Koretz’s staff to ask for his leadership in transitioning Los Angeles off of coal by 2020.

At the office of LA City Councilman Paul Koretz in Beverly Hills

Residents of Los Angeles can still play a part in offering their two cents on the LADWP’s Integrated Resource Plan during the current public comment.  2011 will be an exciting year to mobilize our city to shape our energy future, so stay tuned for more…….