When we talk about clean air in Southern California, we’re talking about a public health issue that affects millions of our friends, family, and neighbors. From Los Angeles to Orange County, smog, soot, and toxic air pollutants are a daily reality—a burden that falls hardest on children, seniors, and frontline communities.
For over five years, I have been working with a coalition of organizations in the southland to transition our buildings from gas-powered to zero-emission alternatives. As someone who experienced asthma as a child, lived with warehouses in my community, 110 freeway in the back backyard, and limited green spaces, it was hard to catch a breath of clean air. It is so clear to me why transitioning our homes and buildings to zero-emission electric equipment—like heat pumps instead of gas furnaces and air conditioners—is one of the most powerful tools we have to improve public health and reduce climate-warming pollution. Everyone deserves to breathe clean air, especially at home.
Los Angeles and Orange Counties consistently rank among the regions in the United States with the worst air quality. Ground-level ozone (smog) and fine particulate matter (soot) exceed national health standards more days than not, especially during hot summer months. These pollutants contribute to:
- Asthma attacks and respiratory disease
- Heart and cardiovascular illness
- Premature death
- Higher hospitalization rates
Children growing up in places like East LA, South LA, parts of Anaheim, and Santa Ana face disproportionate exposure to dirty air—exacerbating health inequities rooted in decades of environmental injustice.
While transportation emissions are a key source of smog, building combustion—especially natural gas used for heating and cooling—is a major and growing source of local air pollution and climate emissions. Every gas stove, furnace, and AC unit burning fossil fuels inside our homes releases pollutants that can seep into indoor air and contribute to outdoor air quality problems.
Victories and Policies That Make a Difference
Local policies like reach codes help cities go beyond state minimum standards to require or incentivize all-electric appliances in new buildings or at the point of replacement. In November of 2025, Glendale, for example, passed a reach code that would require that when an old air conditioner reaches the end of its life, it must be replaced with an electric heat pump instead of a fossil fuel-burning system. Policies like this:
- Drive down local air pollution
- Accelerate the transition to zero emissions
- Protect consumers from being locked into decades of gas dependence. A win for climate AND public health
Not surprisingly, the fossil fuel industry doesn’t like these changes. Their business model depends on selling more gas infrastructure—long-lasting pipelines, furnaces, and appliances. So when cities and air districts adopt common-sense rules to transition to electric technology, fossil fuel companies often respond with aggressive opposition.
I have witnessed it, as has our community. They show up at city council meetings to lobby against electrification policies. They run fear-mongering ads suggesting that electric appliances somehow don’t work. And in some cases, they’re suing municipalities and air districts for doing exactly what public health and science recommend: reducing pollution by phasing out fossil fuel equipment.
These tactics are intended to intimidate our decision-makers and slow down the clean technology transition—even though heat pumps and other electric technologies are proven, efficient, and widely used around the world. But we know that clean air is not negotiable, and we won’t let corporate interests block progress that protects our families and climate.
The Sierra Club Climate Action Committee meets on the first Thursday of every month and their focus is to secure clean air wins via building electrification ordinances, reach codes and rule making. Join one of their virtual monthly meetings to learn about electrification policy and build collective power to win more clean air victories.