California’s Cap and Trade program, historically a cornerstone of the state’s efforts to reduce climate pollution, is likely to see significant reforms as part of a reauthorization process in 2025. The program is currently authorized to run through 2030, but the long process of reviewing it has begun. While oil companies are pushing to extend and leave the program as is, policymakers are considering extensions with significant modifications to make it more effective at cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Join us for a webinar featuring experts who will share their insights and recommendations for improving California’s Cap and Trade program. We will discuss how to strengthen incentives for consumers and businesses to reduce emissions and how to enhance protections for communities affected by fossil fuel pollution. We’ll also explore how revenues from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) can make energy more affordable for all while more effectively reducing climate pollution.
Speakers
Catherine (she/her and they/them) returned as Executive Director in December 2019. In this capacity, they spearhead policy advocacy for clean air in the San Joaquin Valley in close collaboration with coalition members, and manage internal operations. Dr. Catherine has a long history working on social and environmental justice issues in the Valley, where they were born and raised. In 2006, they were hired as CVAQ’s Madera County Community Organizer, then served as Director from 2009 to 2011. They left to pursue a PhD in Geography at UC Davis, working on community engaged research projects and completing their dissertation on the movement for clean air and environmental justice in the San Joaquin Valley. After graduating in 2016, Dr. Catherine advanced efforts to end extreme extraction and plan a just transition off fossil fuels with Californians Against Fracking and Dangerous Drilling, and served on the CVAQ Steering Committee from 2018 to 2019. Dr. Catherine has taught social work, geography, and community and regional development at California State University, Fresno, UC Davis, and CSU Sacramento and is currently a geography lecturer at CSU Stanislaus and Columbia College.
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Sam is a policy analyst and oversees Net-Zero California’s programs. He previously worked as a management consultant for PwC. He holds a Master of Environmental Management and Bachelor of Economics. Sam is originally from Australia and in his spare time enjoys anything outdoors and spending time with his wife and son.
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Dr. Jasmin Ansar joined The Climate Center in September of 2022 as a Senior Climate Researcher to research and develop optimal policies to address the climate change emergency at speed and scale. Dr. Ansar is an economist who began her career as a professor and has been employed in both the private and public sectors. She has been a Climate Economist at the Union of Concerned Scientists and worked on designing and advocating for effective global warming policies with particular emphasis on proposals in California. Dr. Ansar has taught Economics at the City University in London, Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Public Policy and Business, Mills College in Oakland, the Presidio Graduate School in San Francisco, UC Berkeley, and the University of British Columbia. Dr. Ansar has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Southampton, England, a Diploma/MSc. in Econometrics and Economics from the University of Southampton, England, and a B.A. in Economics with Mathematics from Sussex University, England.
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