Mayor Bass has a new plan for addressing climate change in Los Angeles

Bass’ Climate Action Plan calls for doubling local solar power in Los Angeles by 2030 and reducing the use of fossil fuels in buildings and city buses.

It outlines how the city intends to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases at the Port of Los Angeles and L.A. International Airport. And it sets targets for reducing water use, addressing risks from extreme heat, and expanding parks and green spaces to cool neighborhoods and restore natural habitat.

“Cities are the front lines for the climate crisis. Angelenos are living with the impacts every day — from devastating wildfires and floods to rising heat and longer heat waves,” Bass wrote in a letter announcing the document. “This plan outlines how Angelenos will benefit from a resilient, carbon-free L.A.”

The mayor will speak about the plan on Thursday at Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant in Van Nuys, where construction is underway on a new water recycling project. Under Bass, city officials decided to double the capacity of the project, which will transform wastewater into 45 million gallons of pure drinking water a day, enough for 500,000 people.

Bass’ strategy expands on a previous plan called the L.A. “Green New Deal” that then-Mayor Eric Garcetti adopted in 2019.

L.A. City Controller Kenneth Mejia in 2023 called for a reboot of that earlier plan, saying it lacked clear metrics for tracking progress toward goals.

Bass’ strategy includes 14 objectives and more than 50 targets and actions, which it says are “designed to deliver concrete, measurable climate outcomes.” The goals include:

• Increasing renewable energy to 80% by 2030 and 100% by 2035.
• Converting all of the L.A. Department of Transportation buses to electric by 2028.
• Working with airlines and fuel suppliers at LAX and Van Nuys Airport to increase the use of sustainable fuel by 28% by 2030.
• Passing a new ordinance this year to prohibit new oil and gas drilling, and creating a process to end current oil and gas extraction in the city.
• Installing 120,000 new electric vehicle chargers by 2030.
• Increasing L.A.’s use of local water so the city is 70% locally reliant by 2035, and reducing average per-person water use 25% by 2035.
• Establishing five new parks by 2030 and 10 by 2035, and substantially increasing the city’s tree canopy by 2035.

The city is also working toward a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2045.

Bass’ strategy provides the city direction in addressing climate change. But like its predecessor the Green New Deal, the plan won’t be legally binding.

City Administrative Officer Matthew Szabo is working on a separate Climate Action and Adaptation Plan meant to align with a state requirement that local governments maintain climate adaptation and resiliency strategies in their general plans.

Time Staff Writer Blanca Begert contributed to this report.