Berkeley 2050

Climate change is a pressing and urgent global issue and a challenge that needs planet and human focused solutions. Join UC Berkeley’s Director of Sustainability and UC Berkeley’s Executive Director, Center for Environmental Public Policy, for a lively discussion highlighting policy and implementation action happening in the state, bay area cities, and the UC system to reduce carbon emissions.

The state has signed into law numerous policies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emission from buildings, industrial processes, vehicles, agricultural and solid waste management, electric power and fossil fuel production and freight transport.  Those policies are continuously evolving to reflect change in technology, markets and public opinion In similar suit, UC Berkeley and the UC system have pledged to be carbon neutral from building and fleet energy use by 2025 and from transportation and other sources by 2050. The presenters will cover what is underway in green building, energy efficiency, clean electricity, resource management, and behavior-based programs, and how these can help meet these ambitious but achievable goals.

Kira Stoll was the 2016 recipient of The Sustainability Champion Award at this year’s California Higher Education Sustainability Conference. Kira was celebrated for recognizing the critical role staff play in transforming campus operations as well as providing leadership for UC system-wide initiatives. At the campus level, Kira spearheaded a solar energy procurement project to bring 1MW of photovoltaic energy to campus, through a collaborative RFQ with 19 other public agencies.  She has also worked diligently to improve alternative transportation options on campus as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions from operations. In her system-wide role as co-chair of the Climate Change Working Group and representative to the UC Global Climate Leadership Council, Kira has advocated for staff engagement and climate action planning that has driven progress towards UC’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2025.

David Wooley is a Visiting Professor at the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy and Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Public Policy. He has over 30 years’ experience with electric power regulation, climate policy and Clean Air Act implementation.  David is also Of Counsel at the Oakland firm of Keyes & Fox LLP, a law practice focused on distributed energy resources and is a consultant to the Energy Foundation.  Previously, David served as an Assistant Attorney General in NY, taught energy and environmental law at Pace University Law School and was a founder of and Executive Director of the Pace Energy Project.  Later he directed the American Wind Energy Association’s Northeast Policy Project, served as Counsel to the Clean Air Task Force and as Vice President for Domestic Policy Initiatives at the Energy Foundation in San Francisco.  David is co-author of West Group’s Clean Air Act Handbook (2017).