So I was disappointed to learn that shortly after the Palisades fire broke out, L. Mayor Karen Bass suspended a crucial clean energy requirement for new homes, in a misguided effort to help Angelenos build back — a mistake that could soon be repeated by state officials, paving the way for a continued cycle of more destructive blazes.
As part of a wide-ranging order to help people rebuild their burned homes, Bass suspended a city requirement that new construction be all-electric. The more fossil fuels people burn, the more likely it is that L. Sammy Roth gets you up to speed on climate change, energy and the environment. Sign up to get it in your inbox twice a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. When the Energy Commission voted last year to update the statewide building code, it strongly incentivized heat pumps for space and water heating in new homes, starting in This stuff is a no-brainer, right?
Especially with state and federal incentives, no one should build with gas. In a Jan. The prohibition would apply statewide, not just in burn zones. That is a terrible idea, full stop. In theory, that makes sense. Everyone wants to make life as easy as possible for wildfire victims.
If California wants to lead the world on fighting climate change — more important now than ever with President Trump in the White House — state and local leaders need to do more, not less. Ben Stapleton serves as executive director of the nonprofit U. Green Building Council California , which worked with families whose homes burned in the Thomas and Woolsey fires to help them rebuild more sustainable, fire-resilient houses.
