California must lead boldly on climate and housing justice

OPINION – California faces a dual crisis of escalating climate impacts and an acute housing affordability challenge. Seventy nine percent of renters in our state spend more than half their income on housing, and my home city of Los Angeles has the most unaffordable housing market in the country, with sixty three percent of households being renter-occupied. Layered atop this crisis is the reality of worsening climate impacts—extreme heat, wildfires, and the worst air quality in the nation—that disproportionately harm vulnerable families living in expensive fossil-fuel-powered homes.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), serving over 17 million residents in Southern California, has a unique opportunity to lead the state, and the nation, in bold and equitable climate action. We call on the SCAQMD Board to increase the funding for the Go Zero Rebate Program to $100 million to expand access to clean, electric appliances accessible for underserved communities, as well as ensure that this program has strong protections for renters. At this critical moment, as federal climate progress hangs in the balance, California’s local leadership can serve as a national model for safeguarding both people and the planet.

The Go Zero Rebate Program is a pioneering effort to improve air quality and fight climate change by incentivizing zero-emission appliances like heat pumps, which provide clean cooling and heating. Crucially, the program dedicates seventy five percent of its funding to low-income households, including renters in multifamily housing. However, its success hinges on implementing robust tenant protections to ensure renters are not displaced under the guise of building upgrades.

Without these safeguards, landlords could use state-funded improvements to justify evicting tenants and raising rents—worsening housing insecurity for the very communities the program is meant to help. SCAQMD should look to existing models like the California Energy Commission’s Equitable Building Decarbonization (EBD) Program, which ties funding to rent stabilization and tenant retention requirements. This framework ensures that decarbonization does not come at the expense of renters’ stability or affordability.

The urgency of this work cannot be overstated. Extreme heat events, already the deadliest climate hazard in California, are expected to increase twenty-fold without aggressive action. These events disproportionately impact low-income households, forty three percent of whom in Los Angeles lack affordable access to efficient cooling technologies like heat pumps. For these families, clean, affordable cooling is not a luxury but a matter of survival.

SCAQMD has the opportunity to lead not just locally but nationally, demonstrating how to work effectively at the crossroads of climate action with housing justice. As California continues to set the standard for bold climate leadership, the Go Zero Rebate Program can become a blueprint for integrating equity into building decarbonization policies nationwide. By centering renters’ rights and prioritizing the needs of frontline communities, SCAQMD can demonstrate that climate solutions can—and must—protect the people most impacted by pollution and climate change.

Southern California needs climate solutions that clean the air, cool homes, and protect people from displacement. Commissioners at SCAQMD must act boldly to adopt strong tenant protections as part of the Go Zero Rebate Program and increase the program’s funding to the full $100 million. Doing so will expand access to clean technologies, reduce the region’s carbon footprint, and safeguard housing stability for millions of renters.

In this moment of both challenge and opportunity, California has the chance to lead by example. Let’s seize it—for the health of our communities, our neighborhoods’ resilience, and our planet’s future.

Chelsea Kirk is the Director of Policy and Advocacy, Building Equity, and Transit at Strategic Action for a Just Economy (SAJE)