April 16, 2024

Los Angeles, CA – Today, Lindsey P. Horvath, Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, celebrates the Board’s unanimous adoption of Los Angeles County’s 2045 Climate Action Plan (CAP). The CAP is the County’s guide to achieving zero-carbon buildings by 2045, concentrating more housing and jobs near transit, and conserving much more water by 2045, in alignment with the LA County Water Plan.

“Los Angeles County is planning boldly and comprehensively to protect Angelenos from the dangers of climate change through our 2045 Climate Action Plan,” said Board Chair Horvath. “Our greatest sources of emissions in LA County come from our buildings and transportation. This plan sets us on a path to reduce emissions from both, capitalizing on unprecedented federal support for climate initiatives.”

The comprehensive CAP sets forward the County’s vision for climate action across transportation; stationary energy; industrial processes; waste; and agriculture, forestry, and other land uses.

“Today’s action by the Board of Supervisors sets a vision for reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions to align with Statewide GHG emissions reduction targets for 2030 and 2045. The reduction targets identified in the CAP across five different economic sectors highlight that there is not one single solution to combat climate change,” said Amy Bodek, Director of Regional Planning. “Instead, a wholistic approach across all sectors of the economy will be needed. The self-directed nature of the CAP also lets the County prioritize which actions to prioritize. The CAP will work in conjunction with the Board’s goals for increasing the production of housing and addressing historic environmental injustices faced by our most disadvantaged communities.”

The CAP was developed by the Department of Regional Planning after significant community input to replace the 2015 CAP. With today’s unanimous adoption by the Board of Supervisors, the CAP will guide future regulation, land use plans, and building codes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across these sectors.

“More than ever, we’re seeing the impacts of climate change on the daily lives of our residents and communities, whether it’s historic precipitation and flooding, more extreme and frequent heat events, or drought,” said Rita Kampalath, LA County’s Chief Sustainability Officer. “There has never been a more critical time for us to take action to address the climate crisis. The County’s Climate Action Plan provides a detailed roadmap for how we reach the ambitious carbon neutrality goals we adopted through the OurCounty plan, and reaffirms the County’s commitment to being a leader in this global effort.”

The CAP does the following:

• Creates a voluntary pathway to streamline housing production
• Increases density near high-quality transit areas
• Develops land use plans addressing jobs-housing balance
• Broadens options for transit, active transportation, and zero-emissions vehicle market share
• Develops a sunset strategy for all oil and gas operations
• Procures zero-carbon electricity
• Decarbonizes new and existing buildings
• Increases use of recycled and graywater systems
• Institutionalizes sustainable waste systems and practices
• Supports regenerative agriculture
• Expands the County’s tree canopy
• Provides industry with a preview of planned changes so they can begin to adapt now
• Redistributes who has access to climate equity to help equalize environmental justice
• Demonstrates holistic approach to climate action and increases funding competitiveness

CAP adoption comes one week after the Board adopted Chair Horvath’s motion to accelerate renewable energy projects throughout Los Angeles County, one of many implementation strategies identified in the CAP.

For more information on the CAP, visit https://planning.lacounty.gov/long-range-planning/climate-action-plan/.

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