FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Evan Gillespie, Sierra Club Campaign Representative
PHONE: (203) 376-1679
February 26, 2013
Los Angeles – Los Angeles considering signing agreements that will make the city coal free.
Evan Gillespie, Campaign Representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign released the following statement:
“The prospect of Los Angeles being poised to sign agreements to get off of coal represents a pivotal moment for the Sierra Club’s LA Beyond Coal campaign. This would mark a major transformation for our city and would be the result of ordinary Angelenos coming together demanding change in the energy choices we make. In 21st century Los Angeles, it has become simply unacceptable for nearly 40% of L.A.’s energy to continue to come from aging out-of-state polluting coal-fired power plants.
Last February 17, over 1,000 people came together to rally at City Hall and demanded immediate action on climate change by ending our reliance on fossil fuels. Under Mayor Villaraigosa’s leadership, Los Angeles has already taken steps to boost up local production of renewable energy, like with the recently approved Feed-in-Tariff ‘Solar Buy Back’ program - the largest city-wide program of its kind in the nation that promises to create 4,500 jobs and about a half billion in economic development for the city.
The Sierra Club’s LA Beyond Coal campaign has been at the forefront pushing for a transition from coal to renewable energy to reduce our city’s man-made carbon pollution footprint. We look forward to seeing the details of the agreements being considered for the Mayor’s signature. It's imperative that the city continues to replace dirty coal with more of the clean energy already bringing new jobs and investments to LA. We look forward to keep working with the Mayor, City Council, and the DWP to end our city's reliance on dirty coal.
###