VX News interviews Minh Le for his perspective on both how LA County initiatives and federal investments in clean energy can drive resilient and equitable economic recovery and how deleting the digital divide is a top priority for ‘building back better’ in Los Angeles.
Bettina Kamuk, Global Market Director for Ramboll,explains how the Copenhagen facility meets air quality and emissions standards while providing low-carbon energy and recreational activity to its surrounding community.
Ontario finalized its cap-and-trade program in June, and will conduct the first auction in July. As a member of the Western Climate Initiative, the province has also signaled its intent to link its system to similar ones operating in Quebec and California. The Climate Change Mitigation and Low-Carbon Economy Act mandates that revenues from Ontario’s auctions go into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Account to fund a number of diverse programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But experts disagree on how the province can best recycle the cap-and-trade revenue. Before the program was finalized, the Canada EcoFiscal Commission hosted a roundtable of advocates from around the country representing priorities from social inequality to business development. VX News presents an excerpt of the debate with remarks by Chris Ragan, chair of the Canada EcoFiscal Commission; Rick Smith, executive director of the Broadbent Institute; Vicky Sharpe, senior fellow at the International Institute for Sustainable Development; Mike Moffat, chief economist at the Moet Center; and Mark Cameron, executive director of Canadians for Clean Prosperity.
In building a new headquarters, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission chose to utilize cutting-edge technologies, materials, and construction techniques, resulting in an extraordinarily sustainable structure that provided a new standard for municipal policy. Harlan Kelly, SFPUC General Manager, shares with VX News how “one of the greenest buildings in the nation” came to be and identifies the innovative sustainability solutions it takes advantage of, including water-recycling and energy-saving capabilities. He notes that although the country’s economic downturn facilitated the project’s timely completion, the cost-savings of such a structure nonetheless makes the case for public agencies to invest in these often-expensive technologies.
Last fall, the Los Angeles City Council approved the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s request for a $267-million budget for the next two fiscal years. Supported by an 11-percent rate increase, the expanded budget will go towards LADWP’s goal of 10-15 percent energy efficiency by 2020. Long-time energy executive David Jacot, formerly of Southern California Edison, joined the LADWP as Director of Energy Efficiency last summer, tasked with the development and management of the utility’s new, energy-saving programs. VerdeXchange News was pleased to discuss the specifics of these programs in a December 2012 interview with Mr. Jacot.
Jim Kelly, senior vice president of Regulatory and Environmental Policy for Southern California Edison, details the fun and frustration of the process of building-out a smart electricity grid for California electricity consumers.
When the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) launched a $1.2 billion building program in 2001, green building and sustainability were not nearly the industry buzz words that they are today. Now, with LACCD’s program continuing through 2015 and spending $6 billion, LACCD has consistently set the market for green products and can claim game-changing impacts on sustainability practices in the building industry.