Policymaking Under Uncertainty: Zone 0 and Vegetation Clearance
2025-12-12 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
The UCLA Sustainable LA Grand Challenge invites you to join Living with Future Fire: Getting to Research-Informed Policymaking for Fire-Resilience, a series of three webinars featuring experts unpacking the complicated natural and institutional dynamics at play as we work toward a more fire resilient Southern California.
The first webinar, titled Policymaking Under Uncertainty: Zone 0 and Vegetation Clearance, will feature a panel of experts that bring a diverse range of knowledge to help answer questions about what is—and, crucially, what isn’t—known about the role vegetation, the built environment, and other factors play in fire spread.
When: Friday, December 12, 2025 at 12:00 PM Pacific Time.
Where: Register here to receive the Zoom link to attend.
Presented by: UCLA Sustainable LA Grand Challenge
Moderated by: Nurit Katz, UCLA Chief Sustainability Officer
Featuring:

Edith de Guzman, Water Equity and Adaptation Specialist, UC Cooperative Extension
Travis Longcore, Senior Associate Director, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Max Moritz, Statewide Wildfire Specialist, UC Cooperative Extension
Alessandro Ossola, Associate Professor, UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences

Register Here

COP 30: Postpartum or Postmortem?
2026-01-14 12:00 - 15:00
The UCLA Latin American Institute, the UCLA Center for Brazilian Studies, and the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation invite you to join COP 30: Postpartum or Postmortem?, a webinar roundtable offering a critical retrospective on the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (COP 30) held in Belém, Brazil.
This panel will examine the outcome of COP 30, which brought over 56,000 delegates to the Amazonian city of Belém to coordinate a global response to climate change. This COP featured breakaway countries headed up by Colombia and the Netherlands who are committed to rethinking climate action beyond the confines imposed by obstructionist petrostates. Each of the panelists, who come from a range of academic disciplines and activist groups, has a unique perspective and long experience with climate dialogues, COPs, and climate politics. Did COP 30 truly incorporate a wide range of perspectives, or did the agendas of governments and corporate lobbyists take center stage? What prospects are there for meaningful action to mitigate the effects of climate change?
When: Wednesday, January 14, 2026 from 12:00-3:00 PM Pacific Time.
Where: Register here to receive the Zoom link to attend.
Presented by: UCLA Latin American Institute, UCLA Center for Brazilian Studies, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation
Moderator: Susanna Hecht, Professor of Urban Planning and Director of Brazilian Studies, UCLA
Panelists:

Dan Kammen, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Department of Civil and Systems Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
Raoni Rajão, Associate Professor, Department of Production Engineering, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Simone Athayde, Research Integrity Lead, World Resources Institute
Sassan Saatchi, Senior Scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Ben Kantner, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Geography, UCLA

Register Here

CalHeatScore Webinar #5: Training Materials and Resources for Users
2026-01-28 12:00 - 13:00
Please join us for the fifth of six webinars on the California Communities Extreme Heat Scoring System (CalHeatScore). The purpose of the CalHeatScore Webinar Series is to help users learn about the State of California’s new heat warning system. These webinars cover what CalHeatScore does, the data it includes, and how it can be used.
In this session, participants will learn about new CalHeatScore supporting materials and how these resources can be utilized to advance extreme heat planning across the state.
When: Wednesday, January 28, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM Pacific Time.
Where: Register here to receive the Zoom link to attend.
This series is a partnership effort between the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI), the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action and Sustainability (LARC), and the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation.
For more information about CalHeatScore, please visit: https://calheatscore.calepa.ca.gov/.

Luskin Summit 2026: Building Power Through Local Solutions
2026-04-15 07:30 - 14:30 | UCLA Meyer & Renee Luskin Conference Center, 425 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
The 2026 Luskin Summit, “Building Power Through Local Solutions,” will examine how California communities can build power to address vulnerability through locally driven policy action that advances equity, and well-being. The Summit will emphasize that lasting change comes not from one-size-fits-all approaches, but from empowering local governments, institutions, and communities to shape solutions that reflect their needs and strengths. Learn more here.

The Luskin Center for Innovation will be organizing two panels in the Environmental Health and Justice session track:

Bringing Relief to Plastic-Burdened Communities
Advancing Shade Solutions During LA’s Mega-Event Era

Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2026, 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: UCLA Luskin Conference Center
Registration:

Before March 1: $50 general admission | $15 for UCLA students
After March 1: $60 general admission | $20 for UCLA students

Register Here

Sessions
Opening Plenary
Track 1: California’s Housing Strategy
Track 2: Environmental Health and Justice
Track 3: Transportation Security
Track 4: Roots of Socio-Economic Vulnerability and Prosperity
Closing Plenary
Schedule
Check-In and Breakfast: 7:30 a.m.
Opening Remarks: 8:15 a.m.
Opening Plenary: 8:25 a.m.
Breakout Discussions, Round 1: 9:35 a.m.
Breakout Discussions, Round 2: 10:45 a.m.
Closing Session: 12 noon
Networking Lunch: 1:15 p.m.
Featured Presenters

Government officials and civic leaders
Decision-makers in politics and business
UCLA scholars
Difference-makers in the nonprofit and philanthropic spheres

Thinking Gender 2026: Feminist and Queer Ecologies
2026-04-17 09:00 - 18:00 | James West Alumni Center, UCLA
Thinking Gender 2026 will feature a full day of graduate student presentations highlighting innovative research at the intersections of gender, sexuality, and the environment. The conference will include a keynote address by Cutcha Risling Baldy (Cal Poly Humboldt; NAS Rou Dalagurr Food Sovereignty Lab & Traditional Ecological Knowledges Institute), whose work centers Indigenous feminisms, land relations, and food sovereignty. More information here.
When: Friday, April 17, 2026, 9am to 6pm, Pacific Time
Where: James West Alumni Center, UCLA Campus
Presented by: UCLA Center for the Study of Women | Barbara Streisand Center
Featuring: Keynote Speaker Cutcha Risling Baldy (Cal Poly Humboldt)
Registration is free.
Register Here

Book Talk with Dr. Jesse M. Keenan on North: The Future of Post-Climate America
2026-04-27 12:30 - 13:45 | UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Room 2343, 337 Charles E. Young Dr., Los Angeles, CA, 90095, United States
Join us as Dr. Jesse M. Keenan discusses his new book, North: The Future of Post-Climate America (Oxford University Press), which explores how climate change is shaping the physical and demographic future of the United States. North documents a new era marked by shifts in population that are transforming everything from the physical landscape of cities to electoral politics. At the dawning of this post-climate era, emergent geographies of risk and opportunity are coming into focus as a consequence of both physical climate impacts and the adaptations of market economies.
When: Monday, April 27 from 12:30-1:45pm PT
Where: UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, Room 2343
What to Expect:

Hear an engaging talk from Dr. Jesse M. Keenan
Complimentary copies of North will be available at the start of the event (while supplies last)
Connect with peers who share your passion for the environment
Enjoy light refreshments throughout the event

RSVP: This event is free. Registration is required to attend. Sign up today to join us!
Hosted by: UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation
Register Here

About the Book
North: The Future of Post-Climate America offers a critical reframing of adaptation science and the role that people, markets, and public institutions play in shaping human mobility and the capacity of American communities to adapt. With fast-moving markets and slow-moving governments, everyday people are caught in the crosshairs. While some will seek to preserve the status quo, others will relocate from places that are increasingly uninhabitable, too risky, or too expensive for permanent settlement. As the era of Sun Belt migration comes to an end and climate impacts accelerate, everything from local relocations to transcontinental climate migrations are already well underway.
At the same time, new geographies of opportunity are receiving zones for those who are seeking a more sustainable and less precarious way of life. North is not just a collection of scientific observations and projections about America’s future in the face of climate change. It is also a projection of optimism about America’s capacity for decarbonization, environmental stewardship, and population mobility.

About the Author

Jesse M. Keenan is the Favrot II Associate Professor of Sustainable Real Estate and Urban Planning and the Director of the Center on Climate Change and Urbanism at Tulane University. Keenan’s research focuses on the intersection of climate change adaptation and the built environment, including aspects of applied science, design, regulation, and planning. Keenan has previously advised agencies of the U.S. government, governors, mayors, Fortune 500 companies, technology ventures, community enterprises, and international NGOs. Keenan formerly served as the Director and Area Head for Real Estate and the Built Environment on the faculty of the Harvard Graduate School of Design and as the Research Director of the Center for Urban Real Estate on the faculty of the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University.

Drought, Disaster, and Decision-Making: Can a Crisis Be Averted in the Colorado River Basin?
2026-05-08 09:00 - 12:00 | Zoom
Join expert researchers and water managers for this virtual mini-symposium as we examine dire conditions and the escalating crisis in the Colorado River Basin, where the future ability to serve 40 million users across Western states, tribes, and Mexico hangs in uncertainty.
What to Expect: We’ll unpack climate-driven declines, shed light on complex interstate negotiations, and examine pathways to resilience. Speakers will consider pragmatic outcomes and what a balanced deal could look like for the West — and for California’s water future. Each panel will be followed by moderated Q&A.
When: Friday, May 8 from 9:00am-12:00pm Pacific Time
Where: Register here to receive the Zoom link to attend.
Presented by: UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation in partnership with UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA Water Resources Group, UCLA Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the California Institute for Water Resources.
Register Here

Agenda at a Glance

9:00 AM Opening Remarks
9:05-9:45 AM Panel 1: Setting the Stage – The State of the River
9:45-10:30 AM Panel 2: Demystifying the Negotiations Process
10:30-11:10 AM Panel 3: Approaches for a More Resilient River
11:10-11:55 AM Panel 4: Where We Go From Here
11:55 AM Closing Remarks

Hosts
Dr. Edith de Guzman, Water Equity and Adaptation Policy Cooperative Extension Specialist, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources
Dr. Gregory Pierce, Senior Director, UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation; Director, Human Right to Water Solutions Lab; Director, UCLA Water Resources Group
Featured Speakers
Ian James, Water Reporter, Los Angeles Times (moderator)
Chairwoman Amelia Flores, Colorado River Indian Tribes (CRIT) Tribal Council
Anne Castle, Senior fellow, Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment at the University of Colorado Law School
Bradley H. Udall, Senior Water and Climate Research Scientist and Scholar, Colorado Water Center, Colorado State University; Senior Fellow, Colorado River Research Group
Dr. Kathryn Sorensen, Director of Research, Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University
Shivaji Deshmukh, General Manager, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Chairman JB Hamby, Chairman of the Colorado River Board of California
Dr. Mark Gold, Adjunct Professor (former), UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Cara Horowitz, Andrew Sabin Family Foundation Executive Director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law; Director, Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic
Dr. Glen M. MacDonald, Distinguished Professor & Endowed Chair of Geography of California and the American West Ladder Faculty at UCLA; Director, UC White Mountain Research Center
Dr. Benjamin Bass, Research scientist, UCLA Center for Climate Science
Noah Garrison, Environmental Science Practicum Director, UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
Brennon Mendez, Emmett/Frankel Fellow in Environmental Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law
Isabel Friedman, Senior Advocacy Associate, Natural Resources Defense Council
Becky Mitchell, State of Colorado’s Commissioner to the Upper Colorado River Commission
Chair Adán Ortega Jr., Chairman of the Board of Directors, The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Related Articles
Report puts numbers on massive gap in water costs in the West by Claire Griffiths
As the Colorado River shrinks, states fail to tap one of their most promising and accessible water sources by Claire Griffiths
