Register now for “Can Abundance Be Sustainable?”

Affordability concerns are ubiquitous in conversations on environmental and climate policy issues. Policymakers and advocates are wrestling with the question of whether cornerstone environmental laws and regulations, including CEQA and NEPA, can be robustly enforced while still recognizing and addressing cost-of-living pressures.

The UCLA Emmett Institute's 2026 Spring symposium will focus on the interplay between affordability and environmental regulation, paying particular attention to recent developments in three areas: electricity generation and pricing, the transition away from fossil fuel extraction, and affordable housing. It will draw on state-level and national examples, including legislative actions in California on oil drilling and refining and a statewide freeze of building code updates, and on efforts across the country to manage growing electricity demand from data centers. Panelists will assess a range of reforms aimed at reducing costs and assess their compatibility with advancing environmental and environmental justice protections.

Speakers include:

Robinson Meyer, Executive Editor of Heatmap News; William Boyd, Professor of Law at UCLA Law; Tina Andolina, Chief of Staff to California Senator Ben Allen; Allan Marks, Lecturer at UCLA Law; Katie Valenzuela, Policy Consultant at Everyday Impact Consulting and Katherine Valenzuela Consulting; Ryan Cummings, Chief of Staff of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policymaking;  David Spence, Professor at the University of Texas School of Law; Shane Phillips, Housing Initiative Manager at the UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies; Liam Dillon, California Housing Reporter at Politico; Jen Ganata, Legal Department Co-Director at Communities for a Better Environment; Cara Horowitz, Executive Director, the UCLA Emmett Institute.

This day-long symposium at the UCLA School of Law is free and open to the public but you must REGISTER HERE. 

This event is co-sponsored by the Environmental Law Section of the California Lawyers Association and UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. The day kicks off with a keynote address followed by the three panel discussions and a reception to continue the conversation.

Panels include:

Growing the Grid Without Breaking the Bank: Meeting climate goals depends on electrification and on a transition to renewable sources of electricity.  This panel will address how electricity affordability concerns interact with climate and clean energy goals, paying particular attention to the drivers of (and responses to) growing electricity demand, the need for more transmission build-out, and recent state and federal efforts to streamline the siting and building of electricity infrastructure.  

Affordability and the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels: What do affordability concerns mean for a commitment to transition away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible? The federal government’s support for the fossil fuel industry and disdain for sources of clean energy—wind energy in particular—have complicated the plans of states and localities planning to shift toward renewable energy sources and away from oil, gas, and coal. Panelists will discuss the growing strain of argument that plans to transition away from fossil fuel are in tension with energy affordability and broader economic prosperity—and what that means for national and state-level efforts to promote renewable energy sources.

Housing Affordability and Environmental Protection: Policymakers and advocates are wrestling with the question of whether cornerstone environmental laws and regulations, including CEQA and NEPA, can be robustly enforced while still recognizing and addressing cost-of-living pressures. This panel will address the growing, perceived conflicts between housing affordability and environmental protection, asking whether these interests are as misaligned as they have often been portrayed to be.

UCLA School of Law is State Bar of California approved MCLE provider. Each of these three sessions is approved for 1.25 hours of MCLE credit.