BUILDING ELECTRIFICATION FOR CLIMATE LEADERS
Meetup: The Bay Area Chapter and the Sierra Club unite for climate action
By Steve Schaefer
Communications Chair (LA, 2018)
Moving California and the Bay Area to all-electric gas-free buildings is our chapter’s main 2020 policy action focus. At the February 11th Chapter Meetup in San Francisco, Rachel Golden and Matt Gough from the Sierra Club presented their organization’s plan to decarbonize buildings by moving from natural gas to electrification, with a goal of removing natural gas entirely by 2045.
FIVE STRATEGIES FOR POLICYMAKERS:
The Building Electrification Action Plan for Climate Leaders includes:
Goal of zero-emission buildings no later than 2045 (but the next five years are critical)
Strengthen building and appliance standards to reach zero emissions
Improve affordability of electrification and prioritize low-income residents
Educate and inspire consumers and the workforce
Remove roadblocks and common barriers to electrification
The presenters said that natural gas was in three main areas, with about a third in each: power plants, buildings, and industry. There are about 560,000 gas hookups every year, with New York and California as numbers 1 and 2 across the country. That needs to stop.
The biggest users of natural gas in your house, they reported, are space heating (37%) and water heating (49%). The goal, then, is to replace these devices when they wear out with clean, all-electric appliances, such as heat pumps, which are three to five times more efficient.
Some people may not realize that the gas from your stove causes a reduction in indoor air quality. Homes with natural gas are more likely to have residents with asthma, the presenters stated.
FIVE MAIN POLICY ISSUES
Rachel and Matt discussed:
Make electrification more affordable (rebates, financing, rate reform)
Stop expanding the gas system (building codes and retrofits)
Direct utilities to create fuel substitution programs to move to electric
Tenant protections (prevent displacement, provide rent protection, prioritize low-income renters)
Manage a just transition off gas (protect workers and low-income residents, safety)
They talked about how the gas industry was mobilizing to protect their business. To counter this, they encouraged taking these actions:
Education and lobbying (meet with officials, comment at public meetings)
Coalitions and outreach
Using media (letters to the editor, Op-Eds, and more)
Grassroots advocacy (petitions, volunteering, public events)
To get all of the details, read the Building Electrification Action Plan for Climate Leaders.