Join some of the world’s leading experts for a vibrant discussion about solutions to climate change and what we can all do to advance them. 

You’ll hear keynote addresses from the former Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and one of the Paris Agreement’s lead negotiators. Panelists featuring representatives from industry, academia and the public sectors will discuss emerging solutions in three critical areas: energy and technology, food and water, and behavioral change.

The conference will also feature videos of USC students whose research is leading to new solutions and student artworks that convey the importance and hope for standing up to climate change. A reception following the conference, which will feature live music performed by the “Price Band,” will allow attendees to mix with keynote speakers and panelists to carry on this vital conversation.

Please check this website for new information about the conference.

Agenda

9:30 AM	Check-In begins
10:00AM	Welcome remarks Dana Goldman, Dean, USC Sol Price School of Public Policy; C. Erwin & Ione L. Piper Chair; Leonard D. Schaeffer Director’s Chair, Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics; Distinguished Professor of Public Policy, Pharmacy, and Economics
10:20AM	Keynote Address Hoesung Lee, Former Chair, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
11:00AM	Food and Water Nexus “Food grows where water goes,” declare signs along Highway 5 in California’s Central Valley, where farmers have lurched between drought and this year’s floods, both of which can be exacerbated by climate change. Of all the many negative impacts from global warming, growing shortages of fresh water are among the top concerns, especially when it comes to producing food. But the way we produce and consume food are also a concern given that 31% of human-caused GHG emissions originate from the world’s agri-food systems, according to a 2021 FAO report. Questions raised will include: – How do we ensure sufficient supplies of fresh water in a semi-arid place like Southern California, including in the production of food? – How, for example, can we shift away from water-intensive agricultural products like almonds and beef? – Can we design a better cow? Or does the answer lie in plant-based or cell-cultured meats – or some combination of these approaches? – What are some of the more promising approaches to managing water? Moderator: Robin Kundis Craig, Robert C. Packard Trustee Chair in Law, USC Gould School of Law Pat Brown, Founder of Impossible Foods Michael Obersteiner, Director of the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford Fran Pavley, Environmental Policy Director, USC Schwarzenegger Institute; former CA State Senator Claudia Faunt, Program Chief, Groundwater Availability and Use Assessments, United States Geological Survey
12:00PM	Lunch
1:15 PM	Energy and Transportation Nexus The IPCC recently estimated that greenhouse-gas emissions from electricity generation and land transportation could be cut by 73% and 67%, respectively, by 2050 by reducing demand alone. This panel will discuss some of the more realistic and timely options to reduce emissions from these sectors. Questions raised will include: – What kinds of technology will be required and in what contexts? – Will solar and wind dominate the future of fuels to power energy and transportation, or will nuclear, hydrogen and other energy sources play a growing role? – What kinds of policies are required to accelerate adoption of low-to-no carbon options, not only in industrialized countries but developing ones? Moderator: Detlof von Winterfeldt, Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering and Policy, Planning, and Development and J.A. Tiberti Chair in Ethics and Decision Making; Executive Director, USC Center for Sustainability Solutions Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Former Deputy Director General/CEO, IIASA Marlon Boarnet, Director of METRANS Transportation Consortium Jacquelyn Birdsall, Senior Engineering Manager of the Fuel Cell Integration Group at Toyota Motor North America Research and Development
2:15 PM	Interview Mahta Moghaddam, Vice Dean for Research at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, will interview Sue Biniaz, Deputy Special Envoy for Climate, Office of the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, U.S. State Department. Biniaz was one of the architects of the landmark Paris Agreement.
3:00 PM	The Human Condition To quote Walt Kelly’s cartoon character, Pogo, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” So much of the technology and know-how to prevent and adapt to climate change is already available. Yet humanity is not moving nearly quickly enough to meet that challenge. Questions will include: – What is it about the homo sapiens brain that prevents us from acting with far more urgency to address such an obvious threat? – What can psychologists and neuroscientists tell us about how to overcome the mental barriers that prevent so many people from accepting the broad scientific consensus and the need to act? – What is the latest thinking on effective governance to prompt more effective action? – How can advocates of action do a better job of communicating the urgency of rapid and deep action to overcome human resistance? Moderator: Monica Dean, Climate & Sustainability Practice Director, USC Dornsife Public Exchange Wändi Bruine de Bruin, Provost Professor of Public Policy, Psychology, and Behavioral Science Director, USC Behavioral Science and Well Being Policy Initiative Joe Arvai, Dana and David Dornsife Chair, Wrigley Institute; Director and Professor of Psychology and Biological Sciences Gale Sinatra, Stephen H. Crocker Chair and Professor of Education and Psychology and Associate Dean for Research, USC Rossier School of Education
4:10 PM	Keynote Address Karen M. St. Germain, PhD, Earth Science Division Director, NASA
4:20 PM	Closing Remarks Dean Yannis C. Yortsos, Zohrab A. Kaprielian Dean’s Chair in Engineering and Chester Dolley Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, USC Viterbi School of Engineering
4:30 PM	Reception Please join us for a reception in the Town and Gown courtyard featuring a musical performance, art about the conference’s themes created by students Angela Bai, Zeenat Javaid, Sarah Kan, Gunner Lee, and Jenna Schneider, hosted bar and appetizers.