Fact Sheet

Download the 2008 Fact Sheet which outlines many of the accomplishments of UCLA's research enterprise.
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Climate Change, Clean Energy and Sustainability

Featured Centers/Institutes/Projects

Leadership

  • Acting Director
    Thomas Smith
    UCLA Institute of the Environment
  • Director
    Laura Zahn
    UCLA Sustainable Resource Center
  • Director
    Stephanie Pincetl
    UCLA Institute of the Environment,
    Urban Center for People and the Environment
  • 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
    Yang Yang
    Yang Yang Laboratory
  • Director
    Omar M. Yaghi
    Yaghi Laboratory
  • Executive Director
    Paul Bunje
    Center for Climate Change Solutions
  • Executive Director
    Cara Horowitz
    Emmett Center on Climate Change and the Environment
  • Committee Chair
    Cully Nordby
    UCLA Sustainability
  • Director
    Andre Nel
    Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (CEIN)

Reports

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.