Mike Thinks: Mayor Garcetti Moves Los Angeles Away From Fossil Fuel Investment

Climate Change is very controversial, but, as of recently undeniable by a bipartisan Congress. Which is wonderful. Finally, members of Congress are emerging publicly and voicing the obvious -- that climate change is real and is exacerbated by human actions. Well, the last part there might still be of debate. Regardless, as I have written recently (over the past 3 months), the new Congress has held a record level of hearings with "Climate Change" in the title of the discussion. Great.

But for real change, more and more local, state, and federal support needs to be shown for divesting in fossil fuel corporations. Mayor Garcetti placed Los Angeles into the forefront in February this year by ditching plans to invest billions into fossil fuel corporations as shown in an article from the Los Angeles Times:

Los Angeles is abandoning a plan to spend billions of dollars rebuilding three natural gas power plants along the coast, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Monday, in a move to get the city closer to its goal of 100% renewable energy and improve air quality in highly polluted communities.

The mayor’s decision marks an abrupt change of course for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, where top staffers have argued in recent months that the gas plants are critical to keeping the lights on in the city. Environmental groups have urged DWP to replace the aging facilities with cleaner alternatives, saying the gas-fired plants need to go because they contribute to climate change and local air pollution.

Los Angeles has steadily moved away from coal for electricity, divesting from the Navajo plant in Arizona three years ago and announcing plans to stop buying power from Utah’s Intermountain plant by 2025. But with coal, the most polluting fossil fuel, now nearly removed from the city’s energy mix, it’s time to start planning for a future with zero planet-warming energy sources, Garcetti said Monday — and that means no natural gas.

“It’s the right thing to do for our health. It’s the right thing to do for our Earth. It’s the right thing to do for our economy,” Garcetti said. “And now is the time to start the beginning of the end of natural gas.”

“This is the Green New Deal,” he added, referring to the sweeping climate change policies championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y) and endorsed by several contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination. “Not in concept, not in the future, but now.”

The mayor’s decision comes several months after state lawmakers passed a bill requiring California to get 100% of its electricity from climate-friendly sources by 2045, up from a previous target of 50% renewable by 2030.

The news represents another partner in the transition toward renewable energy. Investing in renewable energy makes more sense during a transition toward renewable energy. Cities across the United States have slowly been signing onto agreements to stick with the Paris Agreement. The news above represents a more significant shift with the movement of money (investments) shifted away from fossil fuels.

California has many great minds with a wide variety of ideas on how to transition toward renewable energy. With all of these great minds, there has to exist a range of solutions with different timescales to market. Out of the variety, the transition should be made feasible. More commitments will be necessary from other municipalities across the nation. This will happen with time.

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