Can LA 2028 become a climate catalyst?

Los Angeles will host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the scale of that challenge is hard to overstate. As one striking comparison puts it as the equivalent of seven Super Bowls happening every day in one of the world’s biggest urban economies. That means huge demands for transport, electricity and logistics. But it also creates a rare chance to use a global sporting event to accelerate investment that could leave the city cleaner, more resilient and better connected long after the closing ceremony.

In this episode, host Ed Crooks talks to Matt Petersen, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, or LACI. Matt explains how LACI has been using the run-up to the Games as a convening point for public and private sector action, even though it has no formal role in LA28 itself. The focus has been on transportation electrification, clean energy deployment and practical infrastructure that can help Los Angeles cope with an influx of visitors while improving life for residents.

Transport sits at the heart of the discussion

Matt argues that it will be the single biggest source of emissions associated with the Games, which is why the push for a “transit-first” Olympics matters so much. But in a city built around the car, electrifying private vehicles will not be enough. LACI’s modelling suggests that even with rapid growth in EV sales and charging infrastructure, Los Angeles still needs more people using buses and rail, and better first-mile and last-mile options, from e-bike share to EV car-share schemes, if it wants to hit its climate targets.

The conversation also explores the less visible systems behind that transition

Matt points to the electrification of freight, the build-out of charging depots, battery-backed fast charging, and experiments with flexible grid connections that can bring new infrastructure online faster. Those details may sound technical, but they are central to whether Los Angeles can make room for more EVs, cleaner logistics and rising power demand without waiting years for grid upgrades.

Ed and Matt also discuss the politics of Olympic legacy

Too often, host cities promise transformative benefits that never fully materialise. Matt’s case is that Los Angeles has a better shot than most, partly because it is not building a wave of new permanent venues, and partly because the most important investments are in systems the city needs anyway: electric buses, cleaner freight, charging networks, transit improvements, shade for riders in extreme heat, and cleaner air in communities that have long borne the brunt of pollution.

Can a deadline like LA 2028 force progress on some of the hardest problems in urban decarbonisation: how to move people and goods, how to connect new loads to the grid, how to deliver infrastructure faster, and how to ensure the benefits reach the communities that need them most? For Matt, the real prize is not a few weeks of smooth operations during the Games, but a lasting legacy of economic opportunity and more equitable climate action.

This episode of Energy Gang is brought to you by LACI. Will you join LACI on the Road to 2028? Explore how you can help make clean air the legacy of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Learn more and make your commitment to action today.