Keeling Curve

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Name of Project:

Project Summary / Description:

Cool Roofs: project provides homeowners with cool roofs featuring tiles that remove the harmful air pollutant NOx, installed in complement with solar panels to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The program takes place in disadvantaged communities. Cool roofs are designed to reflect solar radiation, yielding a CO2e benefit, and allowing homes to stay significantly cooler. Cool roofs also benefit the neighborhoods around them, making cool roofs a valuable passive technology in increasing community resilience to climate change.

Cool pavements.

Country or Countries of Operation:

United States

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Argentina

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Aruba

Australia

Austria

Azerbaijan

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Belize

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Yemen

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Best Estimate of GHG Avoidance/Reduction of This Project (Tonnes CO2 Equivalent/Year):

Sustainable Development Goals:

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

Climate Resolve‚ Cool Roofs project is aimed at leveling the playing field for those living in underfunded and underrepresented communities in Southern California. We build collaborations to champion equitable climate solutions and connect communities, organizations and policymakers to address a global problem with local action. We inclusively develop practical initiatives that reduce climate pollution and prepare for climate impacts. Using our collective power to tackle climate change, we are creating a thriving California and inspiring others to act. Our purpose is a just and resilient future. 

It is becoming increasingly apparent that climate change impacts disproportionately affect disadvantaged communities, and in Los Angeles, extreme heat is the most significant of these. Across the U.S. extreme heat is associated with more deaths than all other natural disasters combined. One of the main goals of our project is to quantify the reduction in heat-related morbidity associated with implementation of cool roof policies across the City and County of Los Angeles at the neighborhood scale, with particular focus on risk reduction achieved in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The approach the team takes is guided by a framework to assess vulnerability to environmental exposures developed and applied to a statewide assessment of heat-related illness using data from a variety of sources, including California emergency department health data, CalEnviroScreen 3.0, CalAdapt, and more. The construct is consistent with a holistic model that considers the individual within the context of their physical environment, societal/cultural, and economic environments across the lifespan. 

The cool roofs moderate ambient temperatures within the homes during extreme heat events, and their shingles also employ an innovative technology from 3M that converts the toxic air pollutant NOx into harmless dust. The PV systems provide free power to low-income homeowners who live in a region with some of the nation‚ highest energy costs. Ultimately these impact projects foster residents‚ resilience to the dual threats of climate change and poverty exacerbated by energy costs. The homeowners‚ energy cost savings from free PV power also helps with home affordability during the current economic recession. In financial terms, this program will help significantly reduce the homeowners‚ monthly utility bills. On average, a homeowner who has gone solar experiences a monthly reduction of nearly 90 percent. For a low income family, these savings can be used to pay for other basic needs such as food, health insurance and education. In addition to the immediate financial benefits, solar technology adds to a home‚ value. In many cases, a home is one of several major assets held by a family; therefore, any increase in value can be significant to their long-term financial health. 

In a broader sense, equity is at the center of everything Climate Resolve does. Through our programs, we aim to connect community members and groups with resources to combat climate change impacts, communicate effective policies to elected officials, and empower local leaders to effectively participate in local civic processes.

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