Los Angeles aims to be a global trendsetter in renewables and sustainability with a goal of going 100% renewable by 2035. In this episode of Grid Talk, host Marty Rosenberg talks with Lauren Faber O’Connor who is the Chief Sustainability Officer for the City of Los Angeles. The discussion focuses on how L.A. is achieving its goal.
“We have the power within this city to be able to do that because we control our energy operations through municipal utilities so it’s an incredibly exciting process,” said O’Connor.
Ms. O’Connor also talks about the scale of the project and the impacts beyond Los Angeles.
“Not only are we doing right by Angelinos by leading the charge and really making sure that we are ushering in a clean and reliable and affordable energy system, but we know that what we do in LA has reverberations way beyond our border. Climate change is indeed a global challenge and so what we do here really matter from a global stage.”
“We are moving markets when it comes to our pursuit of renewable energy of distributed local clean generation. New technologies that we’re piloting here in Los Angeles – it has the ability to really move and commercialize new types of technology that’s going to be needed not just in LA but anywhere else.”
Ms. O’Connor has spent her career working on environmental issues from serving as West Coast Political Director for the Environmental Defense Fund to being appointed Assistant Secretary for Climate Change Programs at the California Environmental Protection Agency.
Ms. O’Connor holds a Bachelor’s degree in Earth Systems and Economics from Stanford University, and Master’s degree in Climate and Society from Columbia University.