This January at the UCLA Emmett Institute
Emmett Institute on Climate Change & the Environment
A leading climate change law center that shapes global policy and trains the next generation of environmental leaders
The last few weeks have been almost too much to process. One of the largest climate-fueled wildfire disasters in history is directly affecting some of our faculty and students. Meanwhile, the environmental consequences of the 2024 presidential election are coming into sharp focus (although, let’s face it, we had a good idea of what to expect). This is a hard moment for climate policy in the U.S. and globally. And the winds certainly seem to be blowing hard in the wrong direction.
But the thing about winds — even the destructive Santa Anas— is that they are impermanent; they will change direction again. This month, I’m taking strength in the counsel of colleagues who have been in this fight for many decades and have persevered through hard times before. Below we share more of that advice as well as some examples of the work we’re throwing ourselves into. Let us know what you’re doing.
Cara Horowitz
Andrew Sabin Family Foundation Executive Director
Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment
“We’re not giving up.” | Visiting Scholar Catherine McKenna
This month, we hosted visiting scholar Catherine McKenna for a series of events with students and faculty at UCLA School of Law, as well as the Canadian Studies department and engineering school.
McKenna was Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change during the first Trump Administration and led negotiations of that country’s first national climate plan over intense oil industry opposition. So, she knows a thing or two about facing pushback. Now the founder/CEO of?Climate & Nature Solutions, McKenna led the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Expert Group on Net-Zero Commitments of Non-State Entities.
There’s a fair argument that McKenna and Nichols have done more to shape and bolster climate policy in North American than anyone else. We were thrilled to have them share lessons learned, and reason for hope.?
Upcoming Event on Democracy and Climate
The U.S. is not the only country where climate politics are complicating climate policy. Some political scientists are asking whether democracies are adequately equipped to deal with the growing climate crisis. Join us next Monday, Feb 3 for a provocative lunchtime discussion about the challenges that the climate crisis poses to democracies. Faculty Director Ted Parson will be in conversation with Cristóbal Bellolio, Associate Professor at the School of Government, Universidad Adolfo Ibá?ez in Chile, where he studies political theory and its relation to science, religion, populism, constitutional debates, and Latin American politics. In 2024-2025, he holds the Tinker Visiting Professorship at the University of Chicago.
Our Spring 2025 Classes
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The Emmett Institute is Hiring
Come work with us in these interesting times. We are hiring two positions:
Recent Media and Writing on Policy News
Our faculty have tirelessly engaged with the first round of energy actions by the Trump administration to help journalists, lawyers, and the public understand what impact Trump 2.0 will — and will not — have on the energy transition at home and abroad. Not to mention fact-checking claims the new administration is making about California policies. Here’s a recent sampling.
Ann Carlson is a guest on the Los Angeles Times’ 'Boiling Point' podcast and quoted in an NPR story about regulating Tesla under Trump. She also spoke to Politico about California’s withdrawn waivers.
Alex Wang is quoted in a South China Morning Post story titled “Has Trump Created an Opening for China?” as well as an NPR report about the blow to the U.S. wind industry.
Cara Horowitz is quoted by the Los Angeles Times on what Trump’s executive orders mean for California going forward.
Julia Stein is quoted in a CalMatters piece tracking the environmental lawsuits California won (and lost) against Trump last time around, as well as a Wired article about Trump’s attacks on EVs. She also writes about the climate takeaways of the Governor’s recently proposed budget.
Jason Gray writes about what 2025 will mean for climate finance.
Denise Grab along with Horowitz and Stein dispelled some of the myths and misplaced criticism of California policies as they relate to the wildfire disaster.
Trivia Corner
Name one, or both, of the two California rules that CARB withdrew this month, rather than face denial from U.S. EPA under the Trump administration.
Congrats to Dana Childs and Bryn Moncelsi who correctly answered last month's trivia: the ongoing special session in Sacramento to safeguard against federal overreach.?
About the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law
The Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment is among the leading environmental law programs in the country, with faculty members renowned for their public service, teaching excellence, and scholarship in state, federal, and international law. Located in Los Angeles, a diverse city facing unique environmental justice and climate change challenges, the Emmett Institute provides J.D. and LL.M. students unmatched opportunities for experiential learning, mentoring, and career placement. Through groundbreaking research and public interest initiatives, the Emmett Institute helps shape climate change and environmental law and policy in California, the United States, and jurisdictions around the world.?law.ucla.edu/emmett