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Mayor Villaraigosa touts Emmett Center study on cool roofs, calls for new cool roofs policies

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At the Hot City, Cool Roofs conference in March, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa cited the UCLA Emmett Center Pritzker Brief on cool roofs in calling for an expanded cool roofs program for the city.

Climate Resolve convened the cool roofs conference on March 8. The UCLA Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment co-sponsored the conference, along with the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability. Cara Horowitz, executive director of the Emmett Center, emceed the conference and spoke about what L.A. can do to embrace this climate solution.


The Mayor cited the Emmett Center's study on cool roofs in announcing these changes.  Bright Roofs, Big City describes how Los Angeles residents could make neighborhoods cooler, reduce climate pollution, and save $30 million per year if the city expanded its adoption of cool roofs on new and existing buildings. The paper is the second in the Emmett Center's series of Pritzker policy briefs, which are designed to promote achievable environmental policy goals.
 
The Emmett Center is proud to have contributed to the momentum for these changes. For more information on the benefits of cool roofs and green roofs, we also recommend our study Looking Up, which examines both green roof and cool roof options for Southern California, concluding that these smart roof options could save energy and money while relieving stress on California's limited water supply. Looking Up was a joint effort between the Emmett Center and NRDC.