Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainability

Featured Centers/Institutes/Projects

• Clean Tech Los Angeles
• Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
  
• Clean Tech Los Angeles Video Series
  
• UCLA Climate Change Portal
• Green Companies in the Greater Los Angeles Areas
• Clean Tech Focused Reports and Resources
  
  

Energy and Water Research Centers, Institutes
and Labs

• • Smart Grid Energy Research Center (SMERC)
  • Clean Energy Research Center (CERC-LA)
  • Luskin Center for Innovation
  • Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment
  • UCLA Sustainability
  • Center for Tropical Research (CTR)
  • Center for Sustainable Urban Systems
  • Southern California Particle Center
  • Center for Energy, Science and Technology Advanced Research (CESTAR)
  • Water Center (WaTeR)
  • Center for Climate Change Solutions (CCCS)
  • Center for Corporate Environmental Performance
  • Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEIN)
  • Molecularly Engineered Energy Materials Energy Frontier Research Center (MEEM EFRC)
  • UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES)
  • Yaghi Laboratory
  • Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Biology Laboratory
  • Climate Sensitivity Research Lounge
  • Clean Energy for Green Industry at UCLA (IGERT)
  • Energy Innovation Lab (Wirz Research Group)
  • Yang Yang Laboratory Research Group for Organic Electronic Materials & Devices

• Leadership

  • Director
    Rajit Gadh
    Smart Grid Energy Research Center (SMERC)
  • Director
    Lei He
    Clean Energy Research Center (CERC-LA)
  • Director
    J.R. DeShazo
    Luskin Center for Innovation
  • Executive Director
    Cara Horowitz
    Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment
  • Coordinator
    Nurit Katz
    UCLA Sustainability
  • Director
    Tom Smith
    Center for Tropical Research (CTR)
  • Director
    Stephanie Pincetl
    Center for Sustainable Urban Systems
  • Director
    John Froines
    Southern California Particle Center
  • Director
    Mohamed Abdou
    Center for Energy Science and
    Technology Advanced Research (CESTAR)
  • Director
    Yoram Cohen
    Water Technology Research Center (WaTeR)
  • Director
    Omar M. Yaghi
    Yaghi Laboratory
  • Executive Director
    Paul Bunje
    Center for Climate Change Solutions (CCCS)
  • Director
    Andre Nel
    Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEIN)
  • Director
    Vidvuds Ozolin
    Molecularly Engineered Energy Materials Energy Frontier Research Center (MEEM EFRC)
  • Director
    Glenn MacDonald
    UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability
  • Director
    Omar Yaghi
    Yaghi Laboratory
  • Director
    James Liao
    Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Biology Laboratory
  • Director
    Richard Wirz
    Energy Innovation Lab (Wirz Research Group)
  • Director
    Yang Yang
    Yang Yang Laboratory Research Group fpr Organic Electronic Materials & Devices

  Reports

  
  CDP Cities 2011
  Global Report on C40 Cities
  This unique report contains data self-reported by city governments. Forty-two C40 cities and six voluntary cities around the world have taken the time to measure dozens of climate change related metrics and report them to the world. This candid report establishes a baseline of information for future actions that can be takene locally but have a global impact.

  Integrating New And Emerging Technologies Into The California Smart Grid Infrastructure:
  A Report on a Smart Grid for California
  2010 PIER Final Project Report
  This project determined the status of key elements of a smart grid infrastructure definition, development, and implementation; and to use this information to develop recommendations for research, development, and technology demonstrations that will accelerate smart grid deployment within California

  California's New Rigs-to-Reefs Law
  Southern California Environmental Report Card
  UCLA Insitute of the Environment and Sustainability, Fall 2010
  In the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California sit 27 oil and gas drilling platforms. Current laws require the platform operators to remove the structures entirely and to restore the seabed to its pre-drilling condition. But a new and controversial State law may dramatically change the future of these structures.
  
  "Who's Winning The Clean Energy Race?"
  Pew Charitable Trusts G-20 Report, Spring 2010
  Reviews the status of clean energy finance and investment
  in the countries that make up the Group of Twenty (G-20).
  

  H.R. 2454 - American Clean Energy and Security Bill
  House of Representatives, July 1, 2009
  An act by the House of Representatives to create clean energy jobs, achieve independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy.
  
  The Clean Energy Economy: Repowering Jobs, Businesses and Investments Across America
  The PEW Charitable Trusts, June 2009
  This report reflects the intersection of two of Pews lines of work. The Pew Center on the States identifies and advances effective approaches to improve states fiscal health and economic competitiveness, and the Pew Environment Group promotes practical, meaningful policy solutions to some of the worlds most pressing environmental problems.

  The Competitiveness Impacts of Climate Change Mitigation Policies
  Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Spring 2009
  The climate competitveness debate has proceeded in the absence of hard data. With this report, the Pew Center on Global Climate Change hopes to contribute to a firmer analytical understanding of the potential for competitiveness impacts and of policies to address them.
  
  Basic Research: Tackling America's 21st Century Challenges
  National Academy of Sciences, June 2009
  The discoveries resulting from federal funding of basic research in the physical sciences and engineering have strengthened national security, improved health care, advanced alternative energy and efficiency technologies, and fueled economic growth.
  
  Sharpening the Cutting Edge: Corporate Action for A Strong, Low-Carbon Economy
  World Resources Institute, May 2009
  Companies must move on to a new generation of corporate leadership on climate change.
  
  NSF Climate Change Special Report
  NSF, May 2009
  Researching the Impacts of Climate Change around the World
  
  Environmental Sustainability, Energy Security and Economic Vitality Report
  The National Hydrogen Association, Spring 2009
  The Energy Evolution: an analysis of alternative vehicles and fuels to 2010
  
  National Science Board Report
  NSF, April 2009
  Building a Sustainable Energy Future
  
  World Resources Institute Report
  WRI, April 2009
  Harnessing Nature's Power: Deploying and Financing On-Site Renewable Energy
  
  Climate Action Team Biennial Report
  California Climate Change Portal, March 2009
  The draft Climate Action Team Report, an update of a 2006 assessment, concludes that some climate change effects could be more serious than previously thought.
  
  California's Green Market Economy
  Institute of the Environment, Winter 2009
  This report examines the geography of hybrid vehicle purchases and ranks California's counties and individual cities in Los Angeles and Orange Counties with respect to their hybrid vehicle share.
  
  Double Jeopardy: What the Climate Crisis means for the Poor
  Brookings, February 4, 2009
  The fifth Brookings Blum Roundtable report, "Double Jeopardy: What the Climate Crisis Means for the Poor" focuses on two of the most pressing challenges for global policymakers: reducing global poverty and stabilizing the Earth's climate.

  DOE-BES Report Calls for More R & D Funding
  DOE-BES, December 2008
  A report from the Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee's Subcomittee on Facing Our Energy Challenges in a New Era of Science calls for additional resources to confront energy, climate change and economic challenges.
  
  The UCLA Southern California Environmental Report Card Fall 2008
  Institute of the Environment
  This report focuses on health effects that ambient and traffic related air pollution has on pregnant women, their infants, and young children. Los Angeles County has a relatively young population due to births and migration. Approximately 150,000 births occur every year in Los Angeles County, accounting for over one-quarter of all births in California.

  California Climate Risk and Response
  Next 10, November 2008
  This report provides for the first time a comprehensive examination of the economic impacts of climate change and adaptation in California. In conducting this multi-sector assessment, we compile the most recent available science on climate damage, assess its economic implications, and examine alternative strategies for adaptation.

  Green LA Action Plan
  City of Los Angeles
  Mayor Villaraigosa, in partnership with the Los Angeles City Council and environmental leaders, unveiled GREEN LA - An Action Plan to Lead the Nation in Fighting Global Warming.

  AB 32 Scoping Plan
  California Air Resources Board, October 2008
  On September 27, 2006 Governor Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The event marked a watershed moment in California's history. By requiring in law a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, California set the change for its transition to a sustainable, clean energy future. This historic step aso helped put climate change on the national agenda and has spurred action by many other states.

  Harvesting California's Renewable Energy Resources
  The Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technology, August 19, 2008
  The Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies released a report last Friday, that surveys the landscape of the clean energy sector here in California. You will find the link to the PDF of the report listed below as well as an article from today’s LA Times about the report. Alexandra Paxton from CRA is quoted extensively in the report, beginning on page 25.

  Index to the Digest of Green Reports and Studies
  California Employment Development Department, July 16, 2008
  To encourage the discussion on how green technology affects the workplace and economy, a consortium of local, state, and federal entities is currently reviewing "green" literature to create a "Digest of Green Reports and Studies."

  California Green Innovation Index
  Next 10, 2008 Inaugural Issue
  The inaugural California Green Innovation Index produced by Next 10 provides a comprehensive look at the role of innovation in reducing greenhouse gas emissions while growing the economy. The Index measures progress toward green innovation—green in the sense that it generates both environmental and economic benefits.

  Energy Profile of the United States
  The Encyclopedia of Earth, Last Updated April 14, 2008
  As of October 2005, the US economy continued to expand, with 2005 real growth in gross domestic product (GDP) running at about 3.5 percent. This follows real GDP growth of 4.2 percent in 2004. The U.S. unemployment rate was estimated at 5.0 percent in October, down slightly from 5.1 percent in September, with the economy creating 56,000 net jobs during the month.

  GREEN LA, An Action Plan to Lead the Nation in Fighting Global Warming
  The City of Los Angeles, May 2007
  This plan presents a framework for confronting global climate change; engaging residents to create a cleaner, greener, sustainable Los Angeles; and growing the green economy. The plan also outlines a public process to conduct community outreach and foster public-private partnerships to reduce CO2 emissions beyond the city’s jurisdiction.

  New Initiatives

  
  University of California Research Initiatives to Fight Global Warming
  For more than a half century, the University of California has studied the phenomena of global climate change from a wide range of scientific perspectives. Today, UC researchers are developing technological solutions to curb global warming and mitigate it;s environmental, economic and health impacts. Click here to view a brochure that highlights just some of these research achievements, ongoing efforts and recent news headlines.

  California Air Resources Board Aims to Develop a California-specific Carbon Calculator
  Check out this new Carbon Calculator created by Next 10 and their partners the California Air Resources Board, the California Energy Commission, University of California Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The calculator is unique because it focuses on California specifically.