By Grace Hut, Assistant Director of Policy and Advocacy
April 29, 2025
This past week, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released a proposed municipal budget of $13.9 billion for fiscal year 2025–26. The city is currently facing a nearly $1 billion dollar budget deficit; in order to close that deficit, the Mayor’s proposed budget includes cuts to city programs as well as layoffs for city employees.
One of the programs on the chopping block is the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office (CEMO), which costs the city around $750,000 per year—a mere .00005% of the overall budget. Established in 2021, CEMO is tasked with developing climate change mitigation policies that center communities most impacted by the climate crisis. Policy makers have successfully used CEMO to understand community concerns about climate change, aggregate community input to determine policy directions, and incorporate community-centered recommendations into policy proposals. CEMO’s recommendations on equitable building decarbonization, for example, served as a model for the state’s approach to decarbonization.
CEMO also provides resources to communities impacted by climate change and extreme heat. The office facilitated the distribution of air purifiers to help residents breathe easier during and after the recent fires. It also has been leading efforts on extreme heat preparedness—an ongoing public health concern that demands coordinated action across departments to prevent deaths. CEMO is currently preparing to launch planning for the city’s first-ever Heat Action and Resilience Plan, supported by a $750,000 state grant. If the office were to be eliminated, the city would be forced to forfeit this critical funding.
As the recent fires have shown us, climate change mitigation and disaster recovery require infrastructure and investment in the short and long term. CEMO allows Los Angeles to do both. Moreover, its work is essential to supporting communities that are less equipped to adapt and recover. As the city finalizes the 2025–26 budget, they should restore CEMO funding to last year’s budget of $750,000.
On Thursday, May 1, at 9:00 a.m. there will be a hearing at City Hall on the elimination of CEMO from the budget. You can also provide public comment here. The council file number for the proposed budget is 25-0600.
