LA City Councilmember Koretz's Last Call For Aggressive Climate Action

Ban New Gas Cars, Tax Private Jets, Close Playa; Int’l Community “Fails Us” at COP27Cities, especially Los Angeles, must continue to Lead

November 22, 2022 - Los Angeles, CA -

On the heels of yet another failed United Nations Climate Conference (COP27), Los Angeles City Councilmember Paul Koretz introduced three pieces of aggressive climate legislation: one aimed to ban the sale of new gas cars in stages, beginning in 2028 with the most expensive vehicles to fully implement by 2030; one to create a significant greenhouse gas emissions fee for private jets landing at Los Angeles airports; and one aimed to use the truth of the dangers posed to LAX and Silicon Beach by the SoCalGas Playa Vista Natural Gas Storage facility to shut it down.

"We need to pull our collective heads out of the sand and face the climate crisis at the actual speed and actual scale necessary. That means ending the production of the internal combustion engine immediately. Ending free private jet joy rides. And closing down the ticking time bomb fossil fuel infrastructure that threatens LAX at Playa Vista,” said Councilmember Paul Koretz. “It is already far too late for the eyes of the future to look back on us in gratitude. Now with the UN Secretary-General warning of an already-looming global food shortage and the climate destruction of America’s two mightiest rivers – the Colorado and the Mississippi – we need to fight for any kind of future at all for humanity.”

Koretz also introduced a motion calling on the Department of Water and Power to provide a full report on the remediation efforts surrounding the Navajo Generating Station, the Mojave Generating Station, the Kayenta Coal Mine and the Black Mesa Coal Mine to ensure the City and its utility meets both its legal and moral obligations to the Navajo and Hopi people.

"The City of Los Angeles is boldly leading on numerous environmental initiatives – work that is even more urgent given the slow pace of progress from other jurisdictions," said Councilmember O'Farrell, the chair of the City Council's Environmental Justice committee. "For years, Councilmember Koretz has been a champion for the environment and a partner on many of my policies, including our work on 100 percent carbon-free, renewable energy and our collaborative efforts with the Navajo Nation. I'm glad to see these thoughtful, creative, transformational ideas introduced today. In the years to come, it is imperative that the City follows through on these initiatives."

“The days of Los Angeles extracting natural resources from sovereign nations far away needs to end. The Navajo and Hopi people worked for nearly half a century to ensure Angelenos had inexpensive, reliable power,” Koretz also said. “It is our moral obligation to ensure they are made whole, that we clean up the areas we polluted and, with Councilmember O’Farrell and DWP’s efforts to ‘Light Up Navajo,” to make sure that these nations benefit from their future relationship with the City.”

Through nearly a half century of operation, the Navajo and Hopi people never received any power from the Navajo nor the Mojave Generating Stations.

"These may seem like crazy propositions to some," concluded Councilmember Koretz. "If you take a moment to fully understand where we are in the breakdown of our climate, it's crazier not to do them."