Federal and State Perspectives on Climate Policy
We started our day with an overview of both Hill climate realities at the federal level and with a Senior Advisor to one of the State governors. The first panel included:
As a combination of speakers, they provided a synthesis of what the climate landscape looks like today. All four speakers had previously worked under either Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry or in the permanent climate negotiations team at the State Department, but now with those dismantled had gone to work either on the Hill or at the State level, because climate action cannot wait. One thing I found particularly striking was how both Devon and Jonathan spend a great deal of their time demystifying science for political leaders. Johnathan has a PhD in Planetary and Atmospheric Chemistry from Harvard and Devon has a PhD from University of Buffalo in Geological Science studying arctic precipitation, but they get asked a great deal about any scientific proposal that comes across their office’s desk. Even now politicians want a quicker way to understand how a policy will land or the science behind something in the news. Both were current or former AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellows, one of the flagship programs for scientists to shape federal policy making. Similarly, Claire Wang was a Rhodes Scholar. All of them described a duty to bring scientific knowledge to policy spaces in ways that advance climate action. There has historically been an incredibly strong pipeline of brilliant and dedicated experts who care, but the impact of research cuts and firings of people who work in science in the federal government has been heavy. That said, each of them was relentlessly working towards climate action. They noted that regardless of federal action, people still are stepping up to ensure that science is a part of the conversation, but they explained the environment is much more challenging these days. Some described how scientists like Megan O’Rourke who led climate science for USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is now running for Congress in New Jersey or Jake Levine in California.Julia also gave us an overview of the SEEC Institute, a new 501(C)3 established two years ago “to complement the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), a caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives founded in 2009 and composed of 100+ Members of Congress committed to advancing durable and effective environmental policy.” They work to convene Congress members to advance climate work internationally and even supported Senator Whitehouse’s COP30 visit. They also have trained dozens of members directly on climate policy and have a Thriving Economy Project to advance climate and rethink the policy landscape which includes strong R&D policy. I was most impressed by the panel’s dedication, tenacity and relentless desire to keep climate work going in spite of all obstacles.