Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, City Council President Eric Garcetti, Councilmember Jan Perry and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power today unveiled Solar LA, the country's largest solar power plan, which will jumpstart the green economy in Los Angeles with the installation of 1.3 gigawatts of solar power.

Solar LA, the largest solar project undertaken by any single city in the world, lays out a far-reaching course of action to create a network of residential, commercial, and municipally-owned solar systems to replace more volatile fossil fuels during peak energy demand.

In addition to numerous citywide policies, California is also at the cutting edge of Environmental Policy that is poised to bolster the green economy.

AB 32 - CA Global Warming Solutions Act

Reduce greenhouse emissions to 1990 level by 2020

AB 200 - CA Renewable Energy Standards

Utilities must increase renewable energy resources to 20% by 2017

SB 1 - CA Solar Initiative

$3.2 billion in subsidies to install 1 million solar roofs

AB 1660 - CA Energy Efficiency Vehicles

Encourages the purchase of energy-efficient vehicles by local and state agencies

Greenhouse gas emissions from buildings account for more than 40% of global warming pollution. The ordinance would reduce the City's carbon emissions by more than 80,000 tons by 2012, the equivalent of taking 15,000 cars off the road - surpassing any other major city in the country.

On April 22, 2008, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined City Council President Eric Garcetti and Councilmembers Jan Perry, Ed Reyes and Bill Rosendahl to sign the Green Building Program into law. The Program is expected to reduce the City's carbon emissions by more than 80,000 tons by 2012, or the equivalent of taking 15,000 cars off the road.

The ordinance establishes a series of incentives and requirements for developers to meet USGBC LEED standards. Effective May 29, 2008, the Standard of Sustainable Excellence gives builders voluntarily committing to pursue LEED Silver certification or higher priority processing through the Department of City Planning and Expedited Services through the Bureau of Engineering. These incentives are in addition to the existing Priority Plan Check processing through the Department of Building and Safety and Priority Service Planning through the Department of Water and Power.

The unique characteristics of Los Angeles' municipal government offer an impressive opportunity to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ownership of the largest municipal utility in the country allows the City to directly affect a major source of greenhouse gases.

GREEN LA offers a bold, innovative blueprint for reducing the City's carbon footprint and addressing climate change in an effective, efficient and tangible manner. The following steps outline the efforts:

1. Green the Power of the largest muicipal utility in the U.S.

2. Help Angelenos conserve water

3. Focus on mobility for people, not cars

4. Create a more liveable city

5. Shift from waste disposal to resource recovery

6. Green the Port

7. Green the Airports

8. Unpave paradise

9. Catalyze the growth of the green economic sector

10. Climate proof Los Angeles.

For more information, visit www.lacity.org/ead