Sustainable LA Grand Challenge

The City of Los Angeles has committed to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2035. In 2021, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), determined the technical feasibility and necessary investments to transition to 100% renewable energy. To ensure that the benefits of 100% renewable energy are equitably distributed, LADWP launched the LA 100 Equity Strategies Study in partnership withNREL and UCLA.

An integral part of that equity effort has been to better understand and document the challenges facing small ethnic-owned businesses (EOBs), which are a vital part of Los Angeles’ business sector and form the backbone of our economy, generating jobs and wealth. To better understand the challenges facing EOBs and to assist LADWP in developing equitable policies, programs, and practices, the UCLA Center for Neighborhood Knowledge (CNK) and the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI) embarked on a one-year community-informed research project to learn more about the hurdles facing small EOBs and entrepreneurs in the Los Angeles region regarding the effects of the pandemic, environmental sustainability, energy burden, the anticipated effects ofclimate change, and potential challenges to adapt to the transition to 100% renewable energy. The study included two major components: a survey of over 500 EOBs and qualitative insights provided by stakeholders, LADWP staff, and pilot workshops.

This chapter details the results of an analysis conducted by the California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA into the anticipated need for future electric service panel upgrades within the residential building sector to support future decarbonization targets introduced in the LA100 plan. All of the different transformation pathways explored in the original LA100 feasibility study assumed significant increases in the future adoption of electric vehicles as well as electrification of existing gas-powered end-uses. However, both of these technology transformations will potentially result in significant increases in the demand for electrical energy and power. One significant barrier to increasing the service capacity for LADWP customers in order to facilitate this transition is the rated capacity of their electrical service panels. These are pieces of customer owned hardware that function as the interface between the utility distribution network and the building’s internal energy system. Experience has shown that undersized service panels can be a significant barrier to customer efforts to electrify their existing gas loads or add major new ones, such as for electric vehicle (EV) charging.

This report focuses on creating an equitable workforce development strategy that should accompany a "Justice Transition" to 100% renewable energy generation by the City of Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) in the context of the new emerging green jobs economy for L.A. City and L.A. County. The report has two major parts. The first presents a LA100 Public Access Data Analysis Platform and Calculator that allows for multiple community stakeholders (including ratepayers) to engage in environmental and energy justice planning. The second part presents a Community Case Study of Wilmington and a Community Engagement Approach to identify multiple pathways to community engagement and planning for energy, ecological, and environmental Justice Transitions with a primary focus on jobs and workforce development connected to LADWP investments, policies, and existing programs.

Human activities have interfered with the distribution ranges and dispersal barriers of many species for hundreds of years. Common methods of accidental dispersal include the use of contaminated equipment and the release of exotic pets (Hardion et al., 2014). The introduction of a species may also be deliberate, such as the relocation of species into a novel area for gardening, construction, erosion control, or food production (Hardion et al., 2014). Anthropogenically introduced species may threaten local ecosystem biodiversity by outcompeting native species for resources (Hardion et al., 2014). Therefore, the introduction of non-native species, which are key drivers of human-induced environmental change globally (Vitousek et al., 1997), alter the evolutionary trajectory of native species. This is accomplished by means of competitive exclusion, niche displacement, hybridization, predation, and ultimately, extinction (Shea, 2002). Species categorized as either threatened or endangered are particularly vulnerable to extinction (Wilcove et al., 1998). The resulting loss of native species constitutes an irreversible removal of evolutionary potential (Mooney et al., 2001), as well as a critical cause of ecosystem degradation.

The negative impact of invasive species on ecosystem health extend to a multitude of ecosystem goods such as agricultural products and fisheries. They also hinder ecological services that are typically provided by native species, such as clean drinking water and climate stabilization. This poses a threat because ecosystem goods and services are fundamental to human well-being (Daily et al., 1997). Translating this impact into a monetary value is often challenging. The lack of a concrete and precise economic impact assessment allow the burdens imposed by invasive species to be overlooked. This results in an “invisible tax” on ecosystem services that is rarely considered during decision making (Pejchar and Mooney, 2009).

Furthermore, invasive species have a direct impact on human and animal health (e.g., via toxins, thorns, and allergenic pollen). For example, mosquitoes, which are common vectors for disease, are capable of altering the transmission cycle of pathogens (Juliano and Lunibos, 2005). The introduction of new species of mosquitoes into novel areas has been facilitated by worldwide ship transport (Lunibos, 2002).

Given the broad and substantial burden of invasive species, urgency is required to control and limit their harmful impacts. Such a feat would necessitate specific knowledge regarding their biology, ecology, and geographic origin (Hardion et al., 2014). In the following review, we conducted a thorough assessment of five key invasive species in the County of Los Angeles, providing information on their origins, current distribution, ecological and health impacts, economic costs, as well as ideal management guidelines founded in scientific research.

Implementing integrated water management systems (IWM) that incorporate all components of the urban water cycle, including imported water, local groundwater, captured stormwater, greywater, and treated wastewater is crucial to creating a sustainable water supply for the city of Los Angeles (City). Rapid and effective implementation of IWM is made even more necessary given the current drought conditions in California; this report explores opportunities and challenges to implementing IWM along the way to meeting water quality standards and maximizing use of potential local supplies such as captured stormwater and recycled wastewater in the Ballona Creek Watershed.

The UCLA Sustainable LA Grand Challenge (SLA GC) Sustainability Report Card (Report Card) for Los Angeles County (L.A. County) is the only comprehensive sustainability report card for a megacity in the world. 

This 2021 Report Card on Ecosystem Health provides an in-depth look at the region’s efforts in moving toward a more resilient environment and community for people and native wildlife. A healthy and improved ecosystem requires protecting and restoring high-quality habitats and native biodiversity; reducing ecosystem threats like wildfire and invasive species; and ensuring every Angeleno has access to nature and its benefits such as clean water, shade, and respite through policy solutions that address the region’s inequities. To evaluate the region’s ecosystem health, 18 indicators were assessed across four categories. Many of these indicators are new areas of assessment for the Report Card and will provide a more comprehensive picture of current conditions compared to our 2015 Report Card.1 Grades were assigned in each category based on data availability and accuracy, compliance with regional policy targets where applicable, and historical improvements. This year’s grades range from C/ Incomplete to B, and although there has been great progress in some areas, other areas still require significant improvement to raise the county’s C+ average. 

Executive Summary

The catastrophic Los Angeles firestorms of January 2025 served as a critical turning point for the Southern California region, causing widespread destruction, displacement, and loss of life. In the fires’ wake lie challenges at every scale. Tens of thousands of Angelenos face the daunting task of rebuilding homes and businesses, often without adequate insurance to cover the expense. Communities with deeply rooted histories seek to restore the connective threads and diverse populations that made them unique. And alongside the urgency of bringing back what was lost lies recognition that the region must fortify itself for a future in which climate change pushes fire into urban communities more regularly.

As partner to the Blue Ribbon Commission on Climate Action and Fire Safe Recovery, UCLA’s role was twofold: to provide Commissioners with rigorous, up-to-date, and actionable knowledge from leading subject matter experts, and to engage and elevate the voices of communities impacted by the fires. UCLA’s goal was to ensure that the Commissioners could consider this information, along with their own expertise and guidance from other stakeholders, as they formulated their policy recommendations.

Here we offer a summary of the most relevant knowledge curated, consolidated, and presented by UCLA to the Commissioners. It foregrounds the distinctive characteristics of the fire-impacted communities—their topographies, compositions, and cultural histories—that will inform all aspects of rebuilding and how communities adapt to living with escalating future risk. It outlines the broader backdrop of the region’s fire vulnerability, existing policies, and opportunities for building resilience to fire and other hazards. It offers lessons from other fire recovery experiences and examines the design of governing entities that could lead rebuilding and fire resilience efforts. Most importantly, it reports on the goals, concerns, and priorities shared by fire survivors as they engaged in conversations about recovery and rebuilding.

This report is a companion piece to the Commission’s recommendations and provides broader context and considerations that informed those recommendations. Outlined here are areas of scientific consensus, areas where ongoing debates are underway, gaps in research, and questions on which policies must balance distinct—and sometimes competing—values. Taken together, the research and community voices that informed the Commission’s work underscore a fundamental imperative for leaders: the powers and authorities available to government demand that it take on an outsized role in recovery, but only through cooperative and engaged partnership can it restore the trust needed to guide the region to equitable resilience.

Los Angeles can no longer afford to be reactive in the face of growing climate-driven threats, as we learned at too high a cost in January 2025. We offer this work as a starting point to help policy makers contextualize the recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Commission and take actions necessary to restore communities in the short term and prepare for the dynamic risks of an uncertain future.