California Climate Policy Summit 2026

Diane Papan represents the 21st Assembly District, which includes the entire Bayside of San Mateo County from Brisbane to East Palo Alto. Papan serves as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks & Wildlife and serves on the Committees on Transportation and Governmental Organization & Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials.

Senator Jerry McNerney has been working on renewable and clean energy and water issues for four decades. He was elected to the California state Senate in November 2024, after serving in Congress for 16 years. In the Senate, Sen. McNerney serves on the Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee and Budget Subcommittee #2 on Resources, Environmental Protection and Energy. He is also the chair of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee. In 2025, three of McNerney’s environmental bills were signed into law: SB 31, which will expand the use of recycled water, SB 86, which will create more clean energy manufacturing jobs in the state, and SB 279, which will expand the composting of organic waste at farms, vineyards, and community composting programs.

Assemblymember Isaac Bryan represents California’s 55th Assembly District. He is Chair of the Committee on Natural Resources. Isaac’s legislative accomplishments include establishing extreme heat mitigation planning in local communities and phasing out the Inglewood Oil Field and other oil drilling near homes and communities in California. He has secured over $36 million in funding for green infrastructure projects, climate change education, and clean tech development. In 2024, he coauthored a bill establishing a $10 billion climate bond to finance projects for safe drinking water, drought preparedness, extreme heat mitigation, wildfire prevention, clean air programs, and other efforts to protect communities from the effects of climate change.

Dr. Emily Grubert is an Associate Professor at the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Grubert is a civil engineer and environmental sociologist working on enacting a just energy transition, including by researching ways to make decision making more just, effective, and informed. Specifically, she studies decarbonization and how community and societal priorities can be better incorporated into multicriteria policy and project decisions, mainly related to energy, water, and infrastructure systems. She is particularly interested in understanding how infrastructure decisions can be used to embed and enact structural justice. Grubert holds a Ph.D. in Environment and Resources from Stanford University. She previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Carbon Management at the US Department of Energy. She is currently Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Research: Energy.