Preview | Climate change conference to address California solutions

The April 7 conference, organized by Chapman political science professor Fred Smoller, will contain four separate panels of experts in various fields addressing the connection between governance and climate change solutions. Graphic by HARRY LADA, Art Director

Fred Smoller, a Chapman University political science professor, helped bring the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon to the Great Park in Irvine, California, in 2013. A firm believer in sustainable energy and enacting policy that considers climate change, Smoller is organizing the upcoming 2021 “Fighting Climate Change” conference to bring light to the issue.

Scheduled for April 7 and postponed in 2020 due to the pandemic, this is the sixth annual public policy conference the university has held since 2015. Past conferences have tackled issues such as California housing and the future of transportation. 

The event will feature pre-recorded videos from prominent California politicians like Rep. Katie Porter of the 45th Congressional District, Rep. Mike Levin of the 49th Congressional District, Sen. Dave Min of the 37th Congressional District and former California Governors Jerry Brown and Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

“You have to communicate about the importance (of climate change) and what everyone can do. So many people have these environmental speeches and talk about it, but … we need you, because it’s about people power,” Schwarzenegger said in his pre-recorded video. “Every great movement was created by people, not the government.”

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will be featured in the "Flighting Climate Change" public policy conference. Photo courtesy of Fred Smoller

The conference will center its discussion on the new presidential administration under President Joe Biden. In its first months, the Biden administration has made moves to reverse climate change rollback policies enacted under former President Donald Trump. 

Under Trump, a trend of climate change denial was evidenced through actions such as the United States withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) website removing information regarding the existence of climate change. Under Biden’s presidency, the U.S. has rejoined the climate accord and the EPA website’s climate change-related content has been restored. 

Although the transition between the two administrations marks a different era of climate change policy than was planned for the original conference, Smoller believes it’s the perfect time to have such a conversation. Climate change, according to Smoller, is the most prominent issue facing younger generations.

“If we destroy the environment, what's the point of talking about anything else?” Smoller said.

The conference does not address climate change denial and debate around the existence of climate change, instead focusing on solutions. Smoller, citing data he collected and prepared from the 2020 Orange County Annual Survey, believes that political questions around climate change no longer concern denial of its existence or severity.

In 2010, only 54% of respondents to Smoller’s Orange County Annual Survey believed climate change to be real. However, 73% in 2020 said it is a serious problem, of which 51% found it to be very serious. Thus, Smoller believes that debate around climate change now need only focus on how to address it. 

The conference will consist of four panels that each highlight a key question regarding how California can confront climate change at a state level. 

The first panel will include a welcome from Smoller and Chapman President Daniele Struppa, followed by a discussion with panelists in fields ranging from policy to academia. These participants will address a question centered around California’s current climate change accomplishments.

The second panel — moderated by Ronald Steiner, the Fowler School of Law director of graduate programs — will discuss what local governments can do in the fight against climate change. Panelists include 1997 Chapman alumnus Michael Houston, who works for the Southern California Association of Governments, and Rick Cole, former city manager of Santa Monica, among others. 

Steiner told The Panther that the panel addresses the discrepancy in scope and authority between the federal government and local governments. He said although many believe the national government is very powerful, it is not as capable of influencing local policy as people might think. 

“When you have a problem that’s caused by the national and global, (but) the responsibility and authority for solutions is at a state and local level, there’s kind of a mismatch (in where the problem originates and where responsibility lies to address it),” Steiner said. 

The third and fourth panels will discuss how the government can rise to the task of fighting climate change and what can be learned from other countries in the process. 

California’s key issues that will be discussed in the conference include wildfires, coastal flooding and managed retreat, a strategy that accommodates the inward moving shoreline as sea levels rise.

Despite Biden’s vigilance toward climate change, Steiner is not optimistic about the issue’s political treatment. He points to gridlock in Congress and the ease of reversing executive orders as impediments to lasting change.

“That’s not really a healthy way to try and make sustainable public policy,” Steiner said. “What we desperately need is a coherent, bipartisan, federal legislative solution.”

Smoller hopes students will attend the April 7 conference to inspire them to pursue careers committed to sustainability and combating climate change. He believes the conference provides an opportunity for students to connect with individuals working in such fields and potentially find internships.

“I hope to inspire students to get work in this area,” Smoller said. “There’s a term called ‘green both ways,’ where you can make your living in this area. (I’d be) thrilled if our students were to do that.”

Smoller also expressed a desire for the university to continue hosting dialogues on climate change and install its own initiatives to fight it. He is teaching a “Politics of Climate Change” course in the fall semester.

“These are the types of conversations students should be having,” Smoller said. “The better we get, the more of these things we should be doing. This is what Chapman does.”