The 2nd in a blog series on what Move LA’s partners are saying about the investments needed to fix LA County’s notorious transportation problems -- and climate change.

Jonathan Parfrey’s nonprofit Climate Resolve and the new Path to Positive campaign are mobilizing mainstream local support for climate action, and championing the leadership of Governor Brown and state leaders in setting bold climate goals for the state. Jonathan has called a meeting with 100 local leaders tomorrow at the top of LA City Hall, including LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl; LA City Councilmembers Mike Bonin, Paul Koretz, Mitch Englander, Joe Buscaino and Mitch O’Farrell; LA City Attorney Mike Feuer and Controller Ron Galperin; UCLA’s Richard Jackson, former director of the national Centers for Disease Control’s National Center for Environmental Health, and many others. The goal is to mobilize constituents from public, private and nonprofit sectors around climate issues in a way that honors the LA region's progressive tradition of bold action.

The transportation agenda will be at the core of this organizing effort. At our 7^th Annual Transportation Conversation last April California Air Resources Board member Hector de la Torre reminded us of the extent to which transportation is driving climate change:  “The transportation sector accounts for nearly half of all GHG emissions in California,” he said. “And since Southern California accounts for nearly half the state’s population we can assume that roughly half of GHG emissions — or 25% — come from SoCal. And since half of SoCal’s population resides in LA County we can assume that roughly a quarter of the state’s GHG emissions must occur in LA County. We’ve done a lot of planning for reducing GHG emissions, but we need funding like Measure R2 (the proposed half cent sales tax for transportation that may be put on the 2016 ballot) to fund the implementation of those plans.” 

LA County voters stepped up to tax themselves to build out our public transportation system in 2008, launching what is the largest public works project in the US (with 5 rail lines under construction now). As Jonathan Parfrey told us at the TC7 event: “New York City has the lowest GHG footprint per capita of any city in the U.S. because they have electrified their transportation system. LA has the same opportunity with Measure R and R2.”