The jobs of the future are green and Los Angeles knows it

GRID Alternatives, a non-profit organization has developed a free training program aiming to boost California’s booming solar power industry and accelerate the installation of solar panels in low-income neighborhoods.

L.A.’s government has also asked communities and local businesses for collaboration, in an effort to, collectively, take action and hopefully to cushion the impact of climate change; including wildfires, droughts and rise of temperatures.

Los Angeles is part of the C40 cities, an effort between 100 major cities around the world aiming to reduce climate change consequences around the globe, by promoting clean energies, developing solutions for climate change consequences, and deliver to the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Under Mayor Eric Garcetti, chair of C40 Cities, Los Angeles has pledged to sharply diminish its greenhouse gas emissions, aiming for a 45% reduction by 2025 and net zero by 2050, through measures ranging from decarbonizing the energy grid to promoting electric vehicles.

Leaders are trying to ensure the green shift benefits all residents – particularly helping those who are left behind.

«L.A. is trying to demonstrate how climate action is also a road to racial and economic justice and equity,» said Lauren Faber O’Connor, the city’s chief sustainability officer.

But in a region famous for its car culture and crisscrossed by 88 cities, coordination is needed between many actors, from business and community organizations to city and county agencies. 

«It’s going to be a long haul to meet our carbon-neutrality mandates,» O’Connor admitted. «And we are only as strong as the partnerships we can build.»

Avi Asher-Schapiro, Thomson Reuters Foundation, 6/25/2021, World Economic Forum.