City Profiles / Large Cities / Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles, California

With close to four million residents, Los Angeles is the major player in Southern California, the world's 14th largest economy. Its municipally owned utility, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), is the biggest in the U.S. Yet despite adding 400,000 residents since 1990, Los Angeles has managed to cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) output by 4 percent and keep water use steady. Looking beyond its shores, Los Angeles has joined the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, composed of 40 of the world's largest cities, and set a goal to reduce GHG emissions to 35 percent below 1990 levels by 2030.

Still, the city contributes 0.2 percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions—roughly as much as all of Sweden. And Los Angeles' air quality ranks among the worst in the nation, though it's taken aggressive efforts to reduce smog. Cars and trucks make up the main source of Los Angeles's carbon and smog emissions, but by 2008 the city owned the nation's largest clean-air fleet of public buses. The city is working to build density and reduce commutes with redevelopment incentives, density bonuses, zoning requirements, a brownfield program and transit-oriented development.

The next largest contributor to GHG emissions are municipal operations—accounting for one-third of the carbon footprint of L.A.—primarily from electricity generated by the city-owned utility. But with the Green LA Mayor's Action Plan, released in 2007, Los Angeles takes advantage of this city-utility relationship to fight global warming simply by increasing its purchase of alternative energy. Well on its way to its goal of 35 percent renewable by 2020, the city has increased its use of renewable fuels from 3 percent in 2005 to 8.5 percent in 2008.

Los Angeles has an arid climate and has been struggling with water quantity and quality since its inception. Growth and rising temperatures only exacerbate the problem, with water demand expected to increase by 15 percent by 2030. In May 2008, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa launched "Securing LA's Water Supply." It calls for short-term conservation—prohibiting lawn watering during certain times of day and restricting car washing—and long-term investment—increasing water recycling by six-fold and maximizing groundwater recharge. In 2009 LADWP will distribute free "smart sprinklers" that water lawns based on weather conditions, following the model of the city's low-flush toilet distribution program, which has saved Los Angeles more than 14 billion gallons per year—or enough to fill the Rose Bowl 56 times.