After an exhaustive 16-month public process, we are nearing a vote on our work to advance clean air standards in buildings. The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), the air pollution control agency responsible for regulating sources of air pollution in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, will be taking a vote on rules 1111 and +1121. These proposed rules would update existing pollution standards for furnaces and water heaters that would require manufacturers to gradually transition toward selling pollution-free technologies like heat pumps, an important step for clean air.
Recent revisions to the rules have been driven by the fossil fuel industry and its allies have significantly delayed pollution reductions that communities living with some of the worst air quality in the country urgently need, while reducing overall pollution reductions. But the new proposal has overwhelming support from those who have participated in the rulemaking process. These standards are vital for combating deadly smog: 17 million plus residents in the South Coast region continue to breathe some of the nation's most polluted air, with communities of color facing disproportionate health impacts.
If you have been following this issue with us and care about healthy, clean air standards, please join us Friday, June 6th, at the South Coast Air Quality Management District, and with dozens of other environmental and social justice organizations across Southern California. You can RSVP here.
