Environmental Justice

The climate crisis is here and time for action is running out.

Our plan includes a transition to 100% renewable energy that ensures good paying, green, union jobs for workers. Los Angeles must also commit to justice for communities impacted by climate change and pollution who are disproportionately working class communities of color.

As City Controller, we will:

Account and audit funds and programs that address climate change.

  • It’s not apparent to the public how much we’re spending to combat climate change because there is no detailed accounting of spending. We will provide a detailed accounting to ensure that funds are being spent effectively and efficiently.
  • We are currently spending just a little more than $1M a year on the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office (CEMO). We are in a climate emergency and need to spend more and act fast. We will work with CEMO to assess their needs and determine a suitable budget to fully tackle the climate crisis in LA.

Audit Mayor Garcetti's Green New Deal.

  • We will evaluate the progress and effectiveness of the Green New Deal and provide the public and City Council with frequent updates and recommendations for improvement.
  • If projected goals are not being met, we will follow up with departments in charge of goals to ensure we are meeting them or have a plan to reach our goals.

Push to eliminate all fossil fuel drilling, refining, and infrastructure.

  • Dirty energy sources are making Angelenos sick and killing our Earth. The wealthy and well-connected are able to keep these harmful, poisonous drilling sites out of their neighborhoods, while working-class neighborhoods bear the health costs. The time has come to eliminate all fossil fuel drilling.
  • We will update the City Controller’s past audit report of oil and gas wells to show how many are still active, have not been plugged, or have been abandoned.
  • We will calculate the cost of decommissioning every well, including the use of eminent domain.
  • We will provide recommendations to protect the well-being of taxpayers’ health and finances if oil and gas companies abandon their drill sites. According to Carbon Tracker, throughout the United States, “taxpayers may have to pay $280 billion in onshore plugging costs for oil and gas wells.” Plugging and cleaning up wells can cost up to $500,000 per well. In LA, this could cost taxpayers up to half a billion dollars.

Audit fossil fuel investment in the City's portfolio.

  • Analyze how much we’re spending on oil and gas companies to provide power to the city. The City of LA still purchases fuel for energy generation from oil and gas vendors like SoCal Gas, BP, and Koch Energy. As City Controller, we’ll help provide the tools, data, and analyses to get the City of LA to 100% clean renewable energy by 2030.
  • Provide recommendations on divestment from the City’s treasury in oil and gas companies via the City’s retirement and pension plans.

Provide analyses and recommendations to ensure a just transition for workers.

  • Analyze job loss, retraining, and hiring data, including the costs for a just transition, to inform our policy recommendations to ensure equitable, good jobs for all as we transition to 100% clean renewable energy
  • Track job displacement, job retraining, education, and clean energy jobs
  • Make recommendations and calculate the costs for a Civilian Climate Corps to create good-paying equitable green jobs which will help frontline communities impacted by climate change.

Audit LADWP

  • Audit LADWP’s plans to achieve zero-emissions energy
  • Audit LADWP agreements with SoCalGas and publicize the details of the agreement in an easy-to-read format
  • Determine the extent to which SoCalGas is providing services to Los Angeles businesses, homeowners, renters, government buildings, etc.
  • Determine the impact of SoCalGas on the City’s finances, health, and safety fiscal, health, and safety costs of SoCalGas business in LA
  • Consult with EJ orgs, marginalized communities, and climate / energy experts on how to best transition to 100% clean energy equitably.
  • Provide frequent recommendations and data to City Council and public.

Audit the Office of Forest Management's goal of planting 90,000 trees throughout the City of LA.

  • Calculate the cost of planting trees throughout the city, including the personnel costs, resources, and maintenance
  • Provide recommendations on how to plant trees faster as we are behind on our goal of planting 90,000 trees by the end of 2021
  • Audit the city’s effort in planting more trees in low-income communities of color where trees are very scarce.