Convo: Climate Resolve Series, Part 3, with Jonathan Parfrey on Leading Climate Advocacy in LA
In Part 3 of Flanigan’s Eco-Logic – Climate Resolve Series, Ted speaks with Jonathan Parfrey, Founder and Executive Director at Climate Resolve, LA’s leading climate advocacy organization, committed to local climate solutions to reduce greenhouse gases and improve the lives of Angelenos.
Just back from New York Climate Week, he jumps right into his highlights from all the events, sharing that it was great to see a large California contingent there. Climate Resolve hosted an event that demonstrated bouncing sunlight back into space to help curb the greenhouse effect, raising greater awareness of the radiative forcing benefits of cool surfaces.
In addition to the actions they have taken to curb the heat island effect and keep LA cool, Ted and Jonathan also discuss LADWP’s dilemma (where Jonathan served as a commissioner from 2008-2013), and the tension of reaching 100% carbon free electric delivery by 2035, especially with the potential for using green hydrogen in peaker plants. They also discuss nonprofits’ role in electoral campaigns, specifically Climate Resolve’s stance on Proposition 4, and the best way to protect folks from heat waves.
Jonathan concludes by sharing the numerous plans that Climate Resolve has helped develop for LA, including the LA County Climate Vulnerability Assessment, the LA County Sustainability Plan, the Long Beach Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, the California Climate Adaptation Planning Guide, and the Fourth California Climate Change Assessment. He shares the difference between planning and implementation, and what his feelings are between the two approaches.