Main Responsibilities of an Equitable Decarbonization Advocate at Natural Resources Defense Council
Olivia's main responsibilities as an Equitable Decarbonization Advocate involve "advocacy at the local level," working with local governments and organizations to push for ambitious building electrification and energy efficiency. A recent focus includes advocating for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's 100% clean energy goal by 2035, ensuring this transition is equitable and doesn't negatively impact residents.
Advocacy, Policy Analysis, Decarbonization, Energy Policy, Local Government
Advizer Information
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Olivia Walker
Equitable Decarbonization Advocate
Natural Resources Defense Council
Yale University, 2016
UCLA FEMBA
Environmental & Related Sciences
Climate, Environment, Sustainability & Waste Management, Nonprofit, Foundations & Grantmaking
Climate, Environment and Sustainability
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Olivia's work involves local advocacy, pushing for ambitious policies in building electrification and energy efficiency with local governments and organizations.
2. She also advocates for power sector decarbonization, working with utilities like LADWP to achieve 100% clean energy goals by 2035.
3. Her work focuses on ensuring a just transition, minimizing harm to communities and avoiding excessive electricity bill increases during the decarbonization process.
Transcript
What are your main responsibilities within your current role?
Mostly I do advocacy, which takes many forms. I advocate at the local level, working directly with local governments or with outside organizations that are advocating to local governments for specific policies or programs.
This involves pushing local governments to be more ambitious with their new and existing building electrification and energy efficiency requirements. I've also recently started on power sector decarbonization work.
This looks like advocating to a utility in Los Angeles, the L.A. Department of Water and Power. It's our municipal utility, and we're pushing them to reach their goals of 100% clean energy by a certain date.
Right now, LADWP has settled on 2035. However, they need to achieve this in a way that doesn't cause undue harm, increase pollution in certain parts of Los Angeles, or raise electricity bills to exorbitant amounts. Those are the core responsibilities of my work.