Event Date
Join us for the fourth annual UC Davis Environmental Policy Symposium hosted by the Graduate Program of Environmental Policy & Management (EPM) program.
Time: 2:00-5:10pm with a reception to follow
Venue: UC Davis International Center
Over the past year graduate students in the EPM program have partnered with real-world organizations to dig into some of the most complex environmental topics of our time. They're ready to share what they found, and what they produced.
From the rapid development of data centers to microplastics in our oceans, from new reforms reshaping California's landmark environmental law, to the rise of local climate collaboratives, these symposium presentations have real implications for how we live, work and plan for the future. You'll also hear about funding mechanisms to support stormwater infrastructure in towns across the United States, implications of policies and current science to support marine management and a measurable analysis framework of the Fifth (and future) California Climate Assessments. Students have been in active collaboration with nonprofits, consulting groups, and government agencies, each with a particular role in addressing environmental challenges.
Whether you're a researcher, policy-maker, community-based practitioner, or simply someone who cares about our environmental future, this is a chance to engage with fresh thinking, meet the next generation of environmental leaders, and be part of the conversation.
Project Title | Project Partner | Team Members | Presentation time | Project Summary |
2:00-2:10 Opening comments- Dr. Ryan Meyer, Policy Clinic Instructor | ||||
From Fragments to Frameworks: Microplastics Policy in Action
| Ocean Conservancy | Anna LeRoy, Israel Okeyinka, Daniel Rothberg, Celeste Han, Saurabh Kataria | 2:10-2:30 | Microplastics have been found nearly everywhere scientists have looked for them, throughout the environment, wildlife, the food system and in humans. Research to date raises concerns about potential impacts to environmental processes and human health. Our project will help Ocean Conservancy better understand the outcomes of existing laws to study the issue and identify opportunities for future action on microplastics. |
California’s Coasts: Integrating Science with Policy Solutions to Foster Resilience
| Sea Grant, CalCOFI and Scripps Institution of Oceanography | Erin Gustafson, Nico Naylor, Sam Stromberg, Julia Jamison | 2:35-2:55 | The ocean is changing quickly and our California marine ecosystems need support. Our team is diving into the laws and plans that shape marine management and comparing that landscape with a review of the latest science on climate resilience, vulnerability, and refugia. We will identify gaps and opportunities between the two to integrate science and policy into adaptive marine management. Together, these analyses will cumulate into a set of actionable policy recommendations designed to support resilient ocean stewardship in a changing climate. |
| Policy Analysis of Environmental Exemptions: A CEQA Deep Dive | League of California Cities | Shina Cortez Garcia, Carlin Coleman, Christian Fuentes-Macias, Estrella Silva, and Elizabeth Uemura | 3:00-3:20 | The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is the state’s bedrock environmental law. In response to recent calls for reform, the Legislature has carved out a growing number of CEQA exemptions, many targeting housing development. Have these new exemptions been used in practice, and do these exemptions uphold the law's original intent of environmental protection and transparent, public environmental review? Our project will tackle these questions by cataloging recent CEQA exemption legislation and analyzing documents filed in the CEQAnet Database to highlight trends in exemption creation and use. |
Laying the Groundwork: Shaping the Future of California’s Climate Assessment
| Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) | Ethan Nichols, Emily Heideman, Mark Chechenin, Dulles Hanula | 3:25-3:45 | This project intends to establish a measurable analysis framework of the Fifth and future California Climate Assessments by identifying where to allocate resources within the agency and across author teams. This included gathering feedback from regional and topical author teams to measure success. By strategizing with LCI employees to prioritize areas of improvement, our team will recommend more efficient and effective approaches to future assessments. |
| Financing our Waterways: Innovative Financing Pathways for Improving Stormwater Infrastructure in the United States | American Rivers | Eloise Dresser, Eric Kregel, Lexi Yokomizo and Stephanie Nava-Angeles | 3:50-4:10 | Across the U.S., aging stormwater infrastructure is crumbling, and American communities are struggling. The goal of this project is to inform policy decision makers at the local, state, and federal levels about the importance of investments in stormwater infrastructure, and the financing options available. Our collective work will combine policy analysis, case studies, and community/stakeholder outreach. Through this research, we will make recommendations to support river communities and river ecosystems across the country by securing long-term stormwater infrastructure funding. |
| Climate Collaboratives: A New Form of Governance Centering Local Climate Action | Farallon Strategies | Shivam Gandhi, Amy Nguyen, Junna Faessel, Abel Kebasso and Judith Wanjallah | 4:15-4:35 | California has emerged as a leader in building regional climate collaboratives that strengthen local capacity to address climate change through partnerships among local governments, communities, academics, and private interests. These collaboratives serve as critical hubs for resource sharing, knowledge exchange, and coordinated implementation of adaptation and mitigation projects. With the expansion of climate collaborative models as a governance option, additional information is needed to help communities across the nation understand their options in leveraging this unique structure. Our project seeks to produce an updated understanding of climate collaboratives and provide recommendations for continuing to improve the practice, focusing on identifying the factors that enable collaboratives to succeed in advancing climate action. |
Illuminating Local Zoning and Permitting for Data Center Environmental Justice
| Rooted Futures Lab | Dewansh Matharoo, Subah Tarannum, Ambar Nag and Ioana Seritan | 4:40-5:00 | Data centers of varying scales are emerging all over the United States at an alarming rate, fueled by billions of dollars in infrastructure investment. This acceleration threatens to leave states, counties, and communities with little time and information to understand the impacts of data centers in their community. We are researching zoning ordinances, permitting, and community response in 12 states to shed light on this rapidly evolving landscape. Our research will inform a publicly accessible environmental justice and data center dashboard developed by our partner. |
5:00-5:10 Closing comments - Jessica Penrose, Executive Director | ||||
5:10-6:00- Reception | ||||