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TECH Clean California: $120M in Good News for the Climate

Expert BlogCaliforniaKiki Velez, Merrian Borgeson

The recent launch of TECH Clean California represents a significant milestone in the effort to equitably decarbonize California’s buildings in line with our pressing climate goals. What’s in the $120 million program, and how can Californians take advantage TECH's electrification…

Will CA Finally End Subsidies for New Gas Connections?

Expert BlogCaliforniaKiki Velez, Merrian Borgeson

California is well overdue to cut the more than $100 million in annual subsidies for new gas connections to homes and buildings, which is currently under consideration at the Public Utilities Commission. 

Let Us Breathe! A Vision for a Healthy Oxnard

Expert BlogCaliforniaNatalia Ospina, Heather Kryczka
Learn how an industrial project threatens a community-led vision for health and justice in a coastal California community, and support residents by submitting a comment letter by Feb. 14th.

Clean Trucks Rules Are NJ’s First Step

Expert BlogNew JerseyKathy Harris, Patricio Portillo
By adopting the Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT) rule—which requires an increasing number of zero-emission truck sales each year in the state—New Jersey took a major step to reduce harmful air pollution.

Tenant Protections, Good Jobs Key to Decarbonizing Buildings

Expert BlogLos Angeles, CaliforniaMichele Knab Hasson, Merrian Borgeson

In Los Angeles, buildings are the top source of carbon pollution, and the city is taking bold steps to end these harmful emissions completely by 2050. As city leaders and other stakeholders consider how to achieve these emissions reductions equitably…

LA Must Tackle Clean Buildings & Affordable Housing Together

Expert BlogLos Angeles, CaliforniaStefan Schaffer, Michele Knab Hasson, Megan Ross

Currently, LA’s building stock is responsible for 43% of the city’s total greenhouse gas emissions. A recent report dives deep into the complex relationship between getting fossil fuels out of buildings and creating and preserving affordable housing in Los Angeles…

New Program Provides Energy Burden Relief for Tenants in LA

Expert BlogLos Angeles, CaliforniaMichele Knab Hasson

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the largest municipal utility in the country, has worked with advocates to develop a comprehensive program that provides benefits to low income tenants and is accessible by affordable housing providers.

New Energy Efficiency Rules Will Cut Carbon & Lower Costs

Expert BlogCaliforniaLara Ettenson, Mohit Chhabra

With the sixth annual Energy Efficiency Day planned for Wednesday, it’s a good time to remember that efficiency is one of the most effective ways to fight dangerous climate pollution and catalyze action to address historic underinvestment in vulnerable communities.

Living Among the Diesel Trucks: My Environmental Injustice Story

PerspectivesCaliforniaAndrea Guerra
To a college student who grew up surrounded by heavy truck traffic, warehouses, and commercial hubs in one of California’s most polluted communities, the push to electrify transportation is more than just urgent health policy—it’s personal.

Port of LA Revives the Environmentally Unjust SCIG Railyard

Expert BlogLos Angeles, CaliforniaHeather Kryczka

Air pollution from SCIG would exacerbate health problems, including asthma rates, cancer rates, and premature deaths, for people who are already overburdened by diesel pollution associated with the nearby San Pedro Bay Ports.

California Forging Ahead on Zero Emission Buildings

Expert BlogCaliforniaPierre Delforge

The California Energy Commission (CEC) took a major stride toward zero-carbon emissions buildings in the 2022 update of the statewide building energy code that will require new buildings to use less energy and cut carbon pollution.

It’s Time to End Subsidies for New Gas Hook-Ups

Expert BlogCaliforniaMerrian Borgeson

California utility customers contribute over $100 million every year to subsidize gas connections for new customers. But it doesn’t make sense to keep extending gas pipelines as California moves away from using fossil fuels that add to the climate problem…

NJ Extends Utility Shutoff Moratorium Through End of Year

Expert BlogNew JerseyLarry Levine

NJ extends shutoff protection, through 2021, to millions at risk of losing water, electric, and gas service. A necessary step, while the state works to secure financial support for families that fell behind on utility bills during the COVID-19 emergency.

Biden Clears Way for States to Curb Vehicle Pollution

Expert BlogUnited States, California, New JerseyLuke Tonachel
President Biden is following through on his promise to re-establish the long-held authority of governors to adopt vehicle pollution regulations to protect the health and welfare of people in their states.

New Electric Rates Put Power Back in Californians' Hands

Expert BlogCaliforniaAlejandra Mejia Cunningham, Mohit Chhabra
California’s policy makers and IOUs are now taking action to reward Californians for using electricity at the times when it is cleanest and most plentiful, by introducing time-varying pricing plans.