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SLO Climate Solutions Series III – Building Decarbonization

In just a few short weeks, on August 22, the SLO Climate Coalition will host an exciting two part event to inform and inspire you with solutions for and demonstrations of modern home and building technologies that use our most renewable and available resource – electricity.

This series of events offer a direct benefit to our local community and provide a unique opportunity to propel our city forward in its effort to reach its goal of carbon neutrality by 2035. Ours is the most ambitious climate action target in the nation, and one of the most ambitious in the world. San Luis Obispo has been recognized as a global leader and recently participated in the annual Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance meeting.  At this international meeting, held in Helsinki*, San Luis Obispo joined much larger cities in planning for how we can lead the way toward ambitious global climate action.

*Airfare and carbon offsets were paid for by the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance.

THE SLO CLIMATE SOLUTIONS SERIES CONTINUES AUGUST 22 WITH AN EXCITING EVENING OF PROGRAMMING – “DECARBONIZING OUR FUTURE WITH BETTER BUILDINGS”

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA — The SLO Climate Coalition will host the Climate Solutions Series III: DECARBONIZING OUR FUTURE WITH BETTER BUILDINGS on August 22. This third in series event will inform and inspire attendees with details and demonstrations of modern home and building technologies that use our most renewable and available resource – electricity.  These events will empower locals and visitors to begin making decisions about their own homes and businesses that will make a real difference in the effort to slow climate change and help the City of San Luis Obispo meet its goal of carbon neutrality by 2035.  

Decarbonizing our Future with Better Buildings is a two-part event. The evening will include an informative panel discussion on Building Decarbonization with nationally recognized leaders in the field followed by a Building Expo featuring appliances, technologies, and materials that will drastically reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. The Panel Discussion will be held from 5:30 to 7:00pm in the San Luis Obispo Library Community Room and the Building Technology Expo will take place from 6:00 to 9:00pm on Morro St. during the SLO Farmer’s Market.

Panelists in the “Why Electrify” discussion include:

  • Bronwyn Barry, Board Chair of the North American Passive House Network
  • Pierre Delforge, Senior Scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council
  • John Neal, Director of Technical Services, Association for Energy Affordability; and
  • Hannah Kaye, Expert Product Manager – Grid Edge, a Pacific Gas and Electric Company

This discussion will provide attendees an opportunity to learn from experts about the benefits of electric appliances and equipment and ask panelists questions of their own.

The Expo, “Decarbonization” will feature distributors and manufacturers showcasing various technologies including  electric heat pump hot water and space heaters, induction stoves, whole house batteries, and sustainable building materials. This Expo will provide Farmer’s Market attendees the opportunity to see real equipment and appliances in-use and in-person and ask questions directly of manufacturers.

SLO Climate Coalition member and event organizer Jon Griesser explains,  “Taken together, attendees of ‘Decarbonizing Our Future With Better Buildings’ will learn a great deal and see for themselves how easy, safe, reliable, and affordable modern electric heat pump equipment and induction cooking appliances really are today!”

Experts agree that global warming is caused by human activities and that intentional local climate action provides an opportunity to proportionally slow the impacts of climate change, create new economic development opportunities, and address issues of equity and public health.

In California, homes and buildings are responsible for about 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, around two-thirds of which come from burning fossil fuels like natural gas and propane for space heating, hot water, and cooking. In San Luis Obispo, energy use from buildings accounted for approximately 40 percent of all emissions in the City in 2016, with natural gas accounting for over half of those emissions.

The City of San Luis Obispo is taking action to go beyond the new state energy code requirements in moving away from fossil fuels. This proposed reach code represents one of the most significant opportunities to decarbonize future building stock including several large and currently proposed housing developments.  

The SLO Climate Coalition hopes that event attendees are not only inspired to decarbonize their own buildings, but to attend the City of San Luis Obispo City Council meeting on September 3, 2019 and provide public comments (or via email) expressing their support of the City’s proposed energy reach code and carbon neutrality goal.

Find out how and why California’s cities are moving to cleaner, safer buildings via decarbonization and efficiency: Download the Journalist’s Guide to Building Electrification in California.

Listen to a recent NPR story on how cities like San Luis Obispo and Berkeley are seeking to remove natural gas from buildings to combat climate change.

SLO Climate Coalition logo

The Climate Solutions series is an initiative of the SLO Climate Coalition. The coalition formed in 2017, in partnership with the City of San Luis Obispo with the mission to leverage our community’s expertise, creativity, and resources in order to multiply San Luis Obispo’s efforts to become carbon free by 2035. Since its formation, this group, led by volunteer core Task Force members, several city employees and elected officials and supported by a group of dedicated and talented local residents, has sought to accelerate achievable local solutions to address climate change and build a healthier, more vibrant, and sustainable community.

The Coalition’s action teams focus on decarbonizing electricity through community choice energy, decarbonizing buildings, decarbonizing transportation, carbon sequestration, waste reduction, and community outreach. Please join us in supporting these efforts by visiting carbonfreeslo.org, attending a Climate Solutions series event or participating in an upcoming SLO Climate Coalition meeting at the Ludwick Center. The public is always welcome. 

Visit our Facebook page for updates https://www.facebook.com/carbonfreeslo/

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