These are critical times for our health and climate. These past few years, we have been working to achieve major wins in getting toxic polluting gas out of the buildings we live in, despite the fossil fuel industries' ongoing greenwashing campaigns and attempts to block our efforts. Last year, we set future zero-emission standards for large commercial ovens at the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) through rule 1153.1. This summer, we mirrored this approach to require pollution-free equipment in large, commercial water heaters, and boilers with rule 1146.2.
Why is this so important? This is one of the most effective ways we can secure clean air in our region. These rules would ensure that when new and existing equipment breaks down in the upcoming years, it gets replaced with a clean, zero-emission, fossil-fuel-free one.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) –responsible for setting air quality standards for Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside Counties – will be voting on rules 1111+1121 which will reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions (which are extremely hazardous to our health) from residential and commercial furnaces and water heaters in our buildings. Combined, these rules will continue to help us achieve the emissions reductions we need to attain federal air quality standards, protect our communities from asthma and chronic illness, and meet our statewide climate goals.
However, at its December board meeting, the South Coast Air Quality Management District, responsible for making it safe to breathe for 18 million people in the region, was supposed to vote on these rules, the most extensive emission-reducing rules in over three decades. Unfortunately, companies like SoCalGas, the largest methane utility in the country, and BizFed, a coalition of business lobbying interests representing many of the wealthiest corporations in the world, forced delays to vote on this life-saving rule to 2025. This is unacceptable and we cannot let these efforts go unchallenged.
Our opposition is mobilizing but so are we. We need to keep our momentum from recent wins to pass these proposed regulations and tackle the pollution in our buildings and we need YOU to show up and take action with us. We are planning events, rallies, and votes taking place this December and early 2025, If you have been searching for ways to fight climate change, this is your sign! Get involved in the fight for clean air and join one of our upcoming Climate Action Team Committee meetings.
For more info, email kim.orbe@sierraclub.org.
More about Rules 1111 +1121
In the four counties(1) represented by the SCAQMD, fossil fuel use in homes and businesses releases over nine times more NOx pollution and four times more fine particulate matter (PM2.5) into the outdoor environment each year than is emitted by all power plants in the region combined(2). By passing amended rules 1111 +1121, the SCAQMD now has the opportunity to require that manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and installers produce, sell, and install available pollution-free alternatives beginning in 2026.
The benefits of these rules include:
- Protecting the health of residents in the South Coast Air Basin by reducing air pollution with clean energy equipment
- Allowing Southern California to actually meet federal air standards
- Providing both highly efficient and pollution-free cooling AND zero-emission heating with heat pumps – addressing a significant gap in climate resilience in the Los Angeles region, where 32% of residents still lack access to air conditioning at home.
1 SCAQMD includes large portions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. While approximately 5% of the four-county population resides in other Air Districts, full county data are used throughout this document.
2 Emissions data from EPA 2020 National Emissions Inventory. Appliance emission estimates include residential & commercial emissions for the gas, oil, & other fuel categories, with commercial emissions adjusted to exclude certain non-appliance sources like pipeline compressor stations.