Welcome to our 2025 symposium exploring promising strategies to reduce car and truck pollution in the second Trump administration.  

There’s no going back. Federal climate policies face deep uncertainty, but California remains committed to cutting air pollution and climate emissions from transportation and is obligated to do so by statutes like the Clean Air Act. States and localities are once again at the forefront of transportation and electric vehicle strategies. California has unique authority to create more ambitious motor vehicle emissions standards than the federal government, but even those powers are under attack. Given all this, what are the most promising — and durable — state and local strategies to focus on?   

This all-day symposium will explore a range of creative approaches available to cities, counties, and states to cut pollution from cars, trucks, and other transportation sources in light of threats to tailpipe emission standards. We’ll also examine ways to ensure that the transition to cleaner vehicles benefits disadvantaged communities.  

California Attorney General Rob Bonta will be this year’s lunchtime keynote speaker. UCLA School of Law's Ann Carlson, former Acting Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, will give opening plenary remarks.

Full Schedule: 

9:00-9:30 am: Breakfast and Check-In   

9:30-10:00 am: Opening Plenary Remarks: Ann Carlson  

10:00-11:15 am: Panel 1: Powering cars more cleanly and efficiently: Where do we stand?     

11:15-11:30 am: Morning Break   

11:30-12:00 pm: Lunch Keynote: California Attorney General Rob Bonta

12:00-12:45 pm: Lunch  

1:00-2:15 pm: Panel 2: Place-based approaches to transforming fleets: The Role of Indirect Source Rules and ZEV-only zones       

2:15-2:30 pm: Afternoon Break    

2:30-3:45 pm: Panel 3: Transportation for all: Promising strategies for boosting public transit  

3:45-3:50 pm: Closing Remarks   

3:50-4:45 pm: Reception in UCLA Law courtyard 

This day-long event at the UCLA School of Law is free and open to the public. UCLA School of Law is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider. This event is approved for 3.75 hours of MCLE credit total.

 

Panel 1: Powering cars more cleanly and efficiently: Where do we stand?  

Ann Carlson, Shirley Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law and a Faculty Director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, formerly Acting Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  

Brian Goldman, Chief Deputy Legal Affairs Secretary at the Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, formerly a partner in Orrick's Supreme Court & Appellate practice, and a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. 

Joe Lyou, President & CEO of the Coalition for Clean Air; formerly served as an appointed commissioner of the California Transportation Commission and on the South Coast Air Quality Management District Governing Board.   

Craig Segall, advisor at Craig Segall Consulting LLC, formerly Senior Vice President of Evergreen Action as well as a deputy executive officer at the California Air Resources Board.   

Alexander Nieves, California transportation reporter at POLITICO and part of the California Climate newsletter team. 

Reading and Materials:

1. Politico's California Climate newsletter
2. https://legal-planet.org/2025/02/17/the-trump-administration-is-trying-an-end-run-around-revoking-californias-car-and-truck-rules/
3. https://legal-planet.org/2025/02/14/what-happens-if-epa-revokes-the-endangerment-finding/
4. https://legal-planet.org/2024/12/18/epa-grants-californias-waivers-for-clean-cars-and-clean-trucks/
5. https://legal-planet.org/2024/12/09/california-can-protect-climate-policies-and-pocketbooks/

Panel 2: Place-based approaches to transforming fleets: The Role of Indirect Source Rules and ZEV-only zones  

Jessi Hafer Fierro, Senior Attorney at the California Air Resources Board and a board member of the California Lawyers Association, formerly a director with the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution District 

Adriano Martinez, Deputy Managing Attorney of Earthjustice where he chairs the Transportation Practice Group, and a member of the San Pedro Bay Ports Sustainable Supply Chain Advisory Committee and the California Public Utilities Commission and California Energy Commission Disadvantaged Communities Advisory Committee.  

Amy Turner, Director of the Cities Climate Law Initiative at the Sabin Center, and an Associate Research Scholar at Columbia Law School, formerly a co-founder of the NYC Climate Action Alliance. 

Brennon Mendez, Emmett/Frankel Fellow in Environmental Law and Policy at UCLA School of Law, formerly a litigation associate at Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher LLP and clerk for the Honorable Richard R. Clifton of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 

Reading and Materials:

1. Cities, E-Commerce & Public Health: 3 Legal Pathways to Limiting Freight Vehicle Emissions 

Panel 3: Transportation for all: Promising strategies for boosting public transit    

Madeline Brozen, Deputy Director of the Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. 

Alfonso Directo, Jr., Advocacy Manager for Alliance for Community Transit – Los Angeles, and a licensed civil engineer who has analyzed policy for elected officials and nonprofits.  

Bryn Moncelsi, Deputy Director of Climate Resolve, and the elected Chair of Metro's Sustainability Council who also serves on the advisory boards of ClimatePlan, MoveLA, and the Infrastructure Justice for LA Coalition; formerly a policy analyst and consultant in Copenhagen, Denmark.   

Julia Stein, Deputy Director for the Emmett Institute and co-director of the California Environmental Legislation and Policy Clinic and the Frank G. Wells Environmental Law Clinic. 

 

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