Region: California
Parks and Housing Together: A Win for Communities and the Environment
A new Pritzker Environmental Policy Brief discusses the benefits of parks and affordable housing joint development
Los Angeles needs more parks and more affordable housing. When compared to other major cities across the country, the City of L.A. ranks 78th out of 100 in terms of park access, acreage, amenities, investments, and equitable distribution. More than 1.4 million people in the City of L.A. and nearly five million people in Los …
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CONTINUE READINGPlutocracy Comes Home To Roost
Gavin Newsom Abandons His Climate Commitments To Favor His Billionaire Contributors
Well, well, well, what a surprise: not. Last year, when he single-handedly defeated Proposition 30 but falsely claiming it was a handout to Lyft, Gavin Newsom claimed it was unnecessary because of the state’s investments in clean energy. This was also false, since under its own estimates, the state would be nearly 1 million chargers …
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CONTINUE READINGAdvances in State Climate Policy
Despite the distractions of a national election, there were important developments around the country.
Last year, Congress took its first big step into climate policy by passing blockbuster spending measures. Nonetheless, many states are ahead of the Feds in climate policy. There were important developments in a multitude of states. California remained a hotspot for climate action. In terms of transportation emissions, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved …
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CONTINUE READINGLA’s Big Step toward Building Electrification
Los Angeles is about to require that new buildings be electric, but there’s a bigger decarbonization hurdle waiting.
The City of Los Angeles is going into the new year with a big new building-decarbonization ordinance: starting this year, nearly all new buildings in the city will have to be entirely electric. This means that, with few exceptions, new buildings will need to exclusively use electric appliances, and will not be allowed to contain …
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CONTINUE READINGMethane Action in 2022: Project Climate’s Year In Review
A short summary of efforts to tackle the super pollutant.
Co-authored with Gil Damon, CLEE Methane Research Fellow. 2022 proved to be a big year for methane—the flammable gas that accounts for 30 percent of Earth’s anthropogenic warming. Methane forms when organic material decomposes in sealed spaces and is released in the agriculture, waste disposal, and energy sectors. In terms of warming, methane is a …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Coming Ground War For Missing Middle Housing
Municipalities Continue to Maintain and Erect New Barriers To Homes For Working People
Last year, the California Legislature enacted SB 9, which required local governments to allow duplexes (and with ADUs, sometimes triplexes and quadraplexes) in single-family zones. Housing advocates rejoiced, and NIMBYs screamed that it was the end of the world and would lead to “Manhattanization” (because as we all know, Manhattan is famous for its duplexes). …
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CONTINUE READINGUCLA Environmental Law Clinic Students’ Work Used in Litigation for Improved Refinery Monitoring
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, represented by Earthjustice, filed a petition drafted by UCLA ELC students
On Monday, environmental-justice advocates filed a petition drafted by two of our amazing UCLA Environmental Law Clinic students, Sarah Repko and Monica Heger, opening litigation to improve monitoring of petroleum refineries in Southern California. This spring, Sarah and Monica had the exciting opportunity to work with Earthjustice’s Community Partnerships program to prepare litigation enforcing state …
CONTINUE READINGThe Transport Decarbonisation Alliance at COP27
Call to Action on Active Mobility and Deep Dive on Clean Trucks
Last month at COP 27 in Egypt, CLEE partnered with the Transport Decarbonisation Alliance (TDA) and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as chair of TDA, to convene experts to discuss some of the major next steps in clean transportation. While avoiding the worst of climate change requires a rapid increase in the pace of …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Passing of a Respected Water Warrior
Remembering California Water Law Attorney Clifford Lee
Clifford (Cliff) Lee, one of California’s most knowledgable and respected water law experts, died suddenly late last month. His passing leaves a tremendous void in the field of California water law and policy. After earning his undergraduate degree from U.C. Berkeley, Cliff attended law school at U.C. Davis and quickly became entranced by water law. …
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CONTINUE READINGHow Can Local Governments Plan for Equity in EV Infrastructure?
In August, the California Air Resources Board finalized regulations that will phase out the sale of new internal combustion engine automobiles by 2035. The regulations (known as Advanced Clean Cars II) deliver on a commitment Governor Newsom made in a 2020 executive order and build on decades of emissions reduction programs from CARB. In turn, …
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