UC Santa Cruz Hosts National Climate Change Policy Conference

Last weekend, the Division of Physical and Biological Sciences and the Division of Social Sciences co-hosted "Changing Climate: Acting Now to Secure a Sustainable Future.  This annual conference drew experts from across the country, including Veerabhadran Ramanathan, a distinguished professor of atmospheric and climate sciences at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, who gave the keynote at the conference's Friday night kick-off.

Daniel Shugar, CEO of NEXTracker, speaks on the "Engineering Change" panel.

The Saturday session consisted of three panels of presenters: "Engineering Change," "Motivating Change," and "Communicating Change." Each panel was followed by questions from attendees.  Topics discussed includes the role of technology in green engineering, the future of U.S. environmental laws, and an economic forecast for the green energy sector. "Clean coal is an oxymoron. It's over." Said Daniel Shugar, CEO of NEXTracker, a solar panel installer, as he concluded a colorful analogy comparing the coal industry of today to the typewriter industry of yesteryear.

The event concluded with "Climate Change Science and Policy in a President Trump Administration," a discussion moderated by Fred Keely, former state assemblymember and Santa Cruz County treasurer.  The conference was sponsored by the Physical and Biological Sciences and Social Sciences divisions of UC Santa Cruz.  Learn more at the conference's web page.