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LA County Links Earth Day and Climate Policy
by Don Knapp
Los Angeles County is putting Earth Day to work. In contrast to Earth Day agendas featuring lighter topics like gardening and recycling tips, LA County’s primary event (one of 20, actually) will feature policy and program discussions geared to environmental professionals: land developers, architects, engineers, green nonprofit staff, community activists, prominent small business owners, city employees from 88 jurisdictions within the County, and County employees themselves.
Nonprofessionals are welcome as well, and nobody will need a master’s degree to understand the speakers and roundtable participants. Speaker and roundtable discussion topics include the AB 32 Scoping Plan; what’s new in energy efficiency and renewable energy, including programs and discounts available to the public; how the carbon emissions market will work; planning and regional transportation; and education and workforce development.
LA County’s lineup is the perfect example of how local governments are taking full advantage of Earth Day for their long-term community engagement and planning strategies. Earth Day is the prime time to share plans and programs with community members, and capture their feedback to help chart future courses of action on climate protection, energy, and sustainability. That’s a major reason local governments are participating in the National Conversation on Climate Action.
LA County is one of 10 featured Spotlight Conversation communities in the National Conversation. All 10 Spotlights are working to get the most mileage from Earth Day, but perhaps none moreso than LA County.
A key driver of the County's Earth Day agenda is AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which stipulates that California must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, and acquire 33 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 as well. The AB 32 Scoping Plan outlines how these goals will be achieved, and after its Earth Day event, LA County will forward participants’ Scoping Plan feedback to the California Air Resources Board. Karen Simmons in the County’s Department of Regional Planning explains more:
We want to get the public involved and help them understand AB 32 and the Scoping Plan. Most people don’t think about how the implementation of AB 32 may affect them, but it will. And now is the time for them to learn about it and give feedback to legislators and ARB on what courses of action will be acceptable to them.
The same is true, says Simmons, for County and regional planning that
will address green building ordinances and plans and permitting for
solar and wind facilities to meet the 33 percent requirement. The Earth
Day event will even help County employees, scattered in buildings
across the region, become more aware of how different departments –
public works, planning, public health – are address energy and climate
issues, and offer a chance for collaboration.
The goals are ambitious, but then again, LA County is the largest local
government in the country, and in California, there’s no time to lose.
