Los Angeles is one of the most polluting cities in the world thanks largely to its long, long love affair with the car. It is a city built on consumption. Each person produces around 20 tonnes of emissions per year – twice as much as anyone else. Historically, Los Angeles – and the rest of America – has been one of the worst climate change offenders. Now they are about to reap what has been sown. In LA there has been a big increase in wildfires, water supplies are under threat, rising sea levels could have a massive impact on LA’s huge port and destroy thousands of homes. “Hot Cities” goes to LA as the city launches its adaptation strategy. Already LA, and California, have been looking at ways of reducing their huge energy consumption by investing in electric cars and solar panels. So how will LA adapt to an increasingly hostile environment? And will it any of those ideas be helpful to the developing cities around the world who are now bearing the brunt of the carbon produced by LA in the past?
Keywords: climate change, cuba, climate, megastorm, hurricane