TRANSPORTATION

Transportation accounts for 40% of all greenhouse gas emissions in California, with more than 90% of that coming from tailpipe emissions. We must fully electrify city vehicles, including buses, sanitation trucks, fire trucks, and police cars, and develop a comprehensive electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

ENERGY PRODUCTION​

For our city to meet our emissions reduction goals and mitigate the impacts of climate change, building electrification is the best path forward. Los Angeles currently gets 13% of its electrical power from coal and 35% from natural gas. Both of these fossil fuels must be phased out and replaced by solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal energy as rapidly as possible to achieve the LA100 goal of zero emissions by 2035.

Electrification can reduce pollution and improve energy efficiency, and we can do this without burdening low-income families. A clean economy should not leave anyone behind. As Los Angeles moves toward widespread use of electric vehicles, heat pumps (for heating and cooling), and electric appliances, it will also be necessary to upgrade the power grid to facilitate the electrification of Los Angeles. We can also implement protections and close remodeling loopholes to prevent corporate landlords from passing on electrification retrofit costs to tenants. By investing in clean energy solutions, we can create a thriving and equitable Los Angeles.

You may have heard of hydrogen as a cleaner energy alternative, but hydrogen is too water-intensive to be a viable climate solution, especially when Los Angeles, like much of California, has been experiencing drought and heat waves. The City’s current plans to retrofit our gas-powered generating stations to burn a blend of methane and hydrogen gas is the new “clean-coal” for natural gas: a means to prolong fossil fuel use with unique drawbacks and harmful risks.

​CAPPING OIL WELLS

City Council has taken steps to identify "orphaned" oil wells that have been abandoned by their corporate owners, with no plans for proper termination. These orphan/idle wells are a public health emergency, pouring harmful chemicals into the air and endangering our communities with the risk of explosion. Jillian will continue that work to make sure that those oil wells in CD2 are safely and securely plugged. Additionally, she will support all efforts that any development over oil wells is safe and secure.

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CEMENT PRODUCTION 

Cement production is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for 8% or more of global carbon emissions. It’s why Jillian opposes expansion of Fire District One, a 2021 re-zoning effort that would have massively expanded concrete usage in new development. We should focus on low carbon cement in future constructions, as that becomes available.
 

LA100 AND LA GREEN NEW DEAL BENCHMARKS

It is essential that our City government goes beyond vague promises and proclamations by setting and meeting measurable benchmarks to achieve zero emissions and climate justice goals. The LA City Controller's office has identified areas where measurable benchmarks should be established or improved. Jillian will work with the City Controller and City Council to make those improvements.
 

CLIMATE JUSTICE AND A JUST TRANSITION 

The climate crisis threatens all of humanity (as well as many other species), but low-income communities are the most vulnerable to heatwaves and other extreme weather events, as well as vehicle emissions, petroleum extraction, and industrial pollution. Partially addressing this imbalance is California Senate Bill SB 535, which provides state funding for disadvantaged communities to help close that gap. As a City Councilmember, Jillian will seek to direct funding from that and other sources to CD2 frontline neighborhoods.

As oil and gas operations shrink and shut down, Jillian will advocate for job programs for workers transitioning out of the fossil fuel industry to renewable energy production, possibly modeled after, or in conjunction with, the federal Climate Corps. A “Just Transition” means striving for equity for workers while phasing out the industries that were harming those very workers, community health and the planet. We know this harm disproportionately affects communities of color and we must support them with educational grants, apprenticeships, on the job training and placement as we move from harmful fossil fuels to green energy jobs.

Often this is thought of only in terms of renewable energy jobs, but there’s so much more to it than that. There are climate mitigation opportunities, “system hardening” and wildfire mitigation, climate adaptation efforts like HVAC expansion, and wildfire or cold snap relief.

Jillian believes the people closest to problems are best suited to address them. Her office won't merely react to the suffering of frontline communities, but instead, include them in policy solutions. She will work towards making the LA100 Steering and Advisory Committees representative of Los Angeles and consist of leaders from frontline communities. Jillian will also work with LADWP to incorporate input from our community into the policy process. Finally, there must be a mechanism to ensure that residents have a way to redress environmental racism and injustices in their community. She will work with the City Attorney to push for polluters to be prosecuted and harmed communities to receive restitution