Earlier today, the City of Santa Monica published the Existing Building Electrification Roadmap, which identifies strategies to reduce carbon emissions and improve indoor air quality in existing buildings. This follows Santa Monica’s recently-adopted Zero Emission Building Code, which went into effect for new construction at the beginning of 2023 and requires all new buildings to be fully electric.
Buildings account for over 30% of the City’s carbon emissions, primarily from burning natural gas for space and water heating. The Existing Building Electrification Roadmap outlines a holistic approach to equitably electrifying Santa Monica’s existing buildings, which tend to be less efficient than newer buildings and account for the majority of building emissions.
The City worked with stakeholders including Santa Monica Black Lives Association and Climate Action Santa Monica to identify equity priorities and goals. The City also participated in the California Equitable Home Electrification Program with the Rocky Mountain Institute to help guide this work. With the release of the Roadmap, Santa Monica joins a small but growing list of cities that are developing strategies to improve building performance and electrify their existing buildings.
“Addressing the existential threat of climate change is a priority for our community,” said Chief Sustainability Officer Shannon Parry. “We now require that all new buildings be fully electric. While this will drastically reduce emissions from new buildings, most emissions from the building sector come from existing buildings. Now our emphasis is on replacing natural gas appliances with electric options such as heat pump systems for water and space heating. This movement away from burning gas will significantly lower the carbon footprint of existing buildings and improve indoor air quality.”
Santa Monica’s Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP) calls for a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from existing buildings by 2030. The Existing Building Electrification Roadmap builds on this CAAP goal by putting forth new goals including:
- Implement a Building Performance Standards policy by 2025
- Limit the installation of new fossil fuel appliances by 2030
- Transition all buildings within City-limits to all-electric by 2045
For more information about electrification, visit the Green Building in Santa Monica webpage, which has resources on green building rebates and incentives, including the Electrify Santa Monica rebate program.
Original source can be found here.
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