UCLA Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment

29/04/2026

Our Earth Month newsletter is here! 🌎
📖 Alejandro Camacho has released his new book!
☀️ Ann Carlson's "Smog and Sunshine" had a special book talk
🎙️ "Can Abundance Be Sustainable" - our symposium recap
⚡ Our Elias van Emmerick released a policy report on the energy transition
✍ Read about our faculty's recent writing and media appearances

Read all about it here!⬇️

On Earth Day we celebrated the release of Professor Alejandro Camacho’s new book “Lessons for a Warming Planet.” The book is a vital history of environmental law that says as much about the future as it does about the past. “I’ve been trying to look through the history of the United State....

27/04/2026

More than 50 governments are gathered in Santa Marta, Colombia right now to design a roadmap to phase out oil, gas & coal. This aim, proposed at UN COPs, has never seriously been pursued. Current fuel market shocks give it new urgency. But here's something few are talking about: We have a model for how to do this.

The phaseout of ozone-depleting chemicals under the Montreal Protocol offers sharp strategic lessons that have not been heeded, writes our Edward A. (Ted) Parson. The ozone and climate crises are not the same "but their parallels offer several points of clear strategic guidance for fossil phaseouts, based on how Montreal Protocol architects surmounted specific challenges."

Image description: A red-orange sunset behind oil drilling pumpjacks.

The First International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels should look to the the Montreal Protocol for a model.

16/04/2026

This Earth Month, it's worth asking "How did we get here?" 🌏

Ask our Alejandro Camacho, a Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law and co-author of “Lessons for a Warming Planet: A Vital History of U.S. Environmental Law,” which comes out on Earth Day, April 22, 2026.

“Prior generations did meet the moment and at least partially addressed some of the major problems that were in front of them.”

UCLA’s Alejandro Camacho discusses his new book "Lessons for a Warming Planet" and the lessons we can learn from prior generations.

06/04/2026

Los Angeles is famous for both sunshine and smog. “I’m hoping that we’ll also be famous for cleaning up our air,” Ann Carlson says. Carlson discusses her new book and how California can address federal efforts to undo its emissions standards. This Q&A is part of Earth Month at UCLA.

Join us Friday, April 10 for a book talk with Carlson at UCLA School of Law!

https://newsroom.ucla.edu/stories/smog-and-sunshine-achieving-clean-air-in-california

11/03/2026

Los Angeles and smog are synonymous. But did you know the last smog alert happened in 2003? Come hear the story of how LA cleaned up its air in a book talk on April 10 with our Ann Carlson, based on her new book. In “Smog and Sunshine,” Carlson recounts the dramatic policy fights and the determined scientists, lawyers, and community members who worked alongside public officials to face off against major polluters and save their city. In this political moment, we could all use an inspiring reminder of what concerned residents and all levels of government can achieve by working together.

We are excited to co-sponsor this book talk with UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and LENS at UCLA at UCLA School of Law

RSVP now at: https://law.ucla.edu/events/smog-and-sunshine-book-talk-ann-carlson?_gl=1*47nrtr*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTY4ODg0MDU4MS4xNzcxMzUxMjg2*_ga_LH03WX2T8B*czE3NzEzNTEyODUkbzEkZzAkdDE3NzEzNTEyODUkajYwJGwwJGgw

26/02/2026

Our February newsletter is here! Read on for details about upcoming book talks, class field trips, panel discussions, and exciting campus visits.
💬 Join us on March 4 for Alex Wang's book talk on Chinese Global Environmentalism
📖 See which other faculty have books on the way!
⚖️ We hosted an alumni environmental career panel with powerhouse alumni
🚌 UCLA Law students took a tour of an electric bus factory
🌲 Our Governors' Climate & Forests Task Force welcomed Indonesian partners to a Sacramento training

This month, Chinese automaker BYD overtook Tesla as the top seller of electric vehicles. It’s one more reminder of how China is promoting green development on the global stage, while the Trump administration hits the brakes. Join our Faculty Co-Director Alex Wang on March 4 for a fascinating tal...

19/02/2026

Our “Meet the Faculty” lunch at UCLA School of Law is an amazing showcase of the environmental law program at UCLA, from Water Law and Natural Resources to Energy & Infrastructure Finance to Regulating the Automobile and even Future Law.

This week, 9 of our 17 faculty members (Allan Marks, Ann Carlson, Alex Wang, Alejandro Camacho, Edward Parson, Cara Horowitz, Jim Salzman, William Boyd, Tifanny Deguzman, & Elias van Emmerick) talked with students about their upcoming classes and their research focus. We feel very grateful to work in community with all these folks. If you’re a new UCLA Law student, swing by our upcoming Career Panel on Wed., Feb 25 or come by the Emmett Institute offices anytime.

18/02/2026

Journalists around the country have turned to our Faculty Director Ann Carlson, one of the nation’s leading experts on the Clean Air Act and the endangerment finding. Carlson was interviewed by: Marketplace, WHYY, the New York Times, the Associated Press, Politico, KCRW’s Press Play, and CalMatters.

Carlson was also on NPR’s Here & Now explaining how EPA's decision this week to abandon climate change regulation could give more power to the states. “One of the ironies of EPA stepping out of the regulation of greenhouse gases from cars and trucks is that they’re leaving a big window open, legally, for California and other states to step in. I think we’re going to see action – it won’t surprise me to see California moving quickly – to start reasserting its authority to regulate greenhouse gases from cars and trucks.”

“This is definitely a conversation,” State Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, a Democrat from Irvine, said during a press conference last week. “So stay tuned.” https://www.independent.com/2026/02/13/trump-scraps-cornerstone-climate-finding-as-california-prepares-for-court/

17/02/2026

Is China an environmental savior? Our Faculty Co-Director Alex Wang has a new book out explaining the origins and contradictions of "Chinese Global Environmentalism." He sat down to talk about the themes in a Q&A for University of California, Los Angeles - School of Law. "China’s pursuit of green development began more than two decades ago," Wang explains,​ "driven by a complex set of pragmatic motives..."

⚡ The need for energy security
🏭 The opportunity to lead in fast-growing industries
😷 Widespread domestic pollution that sparked social unrest
🌏 Damage to its global reputation as the world’s largest polluter

"For anyone concerned with the environment, there are still strong reasons to worry about China. Its emissions and ecological impact remain the largest in the world. At the same time, its clean energy buildout is unprecedented in history, creating the conditions for emissions to begin declining."

So, should we view China’s developmental drive toward green growth as a mostly positive force? Read on for more of Wang's argument. Link is in the comments.

13/02/2026

Roses are red, violets are blue, we ❤️ environmental law, and so should you. 🫵 When we threw an Emmett Institute open house at UCLA School of Law recently, some student leaders from UCLA's Environmental Law Society helped us answer the question of a prospective student interesting in enviro law. 🪴

26/01/2026

Need some good news in your feed? Our monthly newsletter for January is out, and it's filled with exciting updates on the environmental law front from University of California, Los Angeles - School of Law.

🆕 We announced a big addition to our renowned faculty
🏆 Our students and professors won new awards
🏔️ We hosted a major policy convening in Santiago, Chile
🏫 We're offering about a DOZEN environmental classes this winter
📎 We published three policy papers and have books on the way
📣 We are hiring - deadline is Feb. 1!

We're thrilled to welcome Alejandro Camacho, a renowned regulatory scholar, as a professor of law. Camacho will be a core faculty member of the Emmett Institute and a faculty associate of UCLA’s Chicano Studies Research Center. Camacho comes from UC Irvine School of Law, where he was Chancellor......