Mayor Eric Garcetti: Los Angeles is Already Investing In a Green New Deal

America’s second-largest city is implementing a Green New Deal.

“We don’t need more studies to show us the reality about climate change. We just have to look out the window,” explained Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. “The evidence is everywhere: fires on our hillsides; torrential flooding; and temperatures spiking in the triple digits.”

Garcetti says that, long before the Green New Deal was released, LA released a plan to do the same thing, committing LA to aggressive reduction in greenhouse gas emissions—and the city’s emissions decreased significantly.

“We used our endless sunshine as a competitive advantage, and became the number one solar city in America,” he said. “We paved a path to a new economy, creating more than 35,000 new, green, middle-class jobs.”

Garcetti says now, in 2019, LA is doubling down on its Green New Deal by mandating that every building in LA become emissions-free by 2050. The city has also banned plastic straws and is aiming to be a completely zero-waste city by 2050.

Though a lot of good is happening in LA, Garcetti is still urging voters to contact Washington in support of a country-wide Green New Deal.

“Let’s go big, because there’s nothing radical about creating a cleaner future for our grandchildren,” he said.