West LA Times

With stark differences in the climate policies of the two presidential candidates, this election is considered crucial for climate policy. UCLA environmental law experts have made specific post-election predictions. One expert, a former Biden appointee, notes that Project 2025’s call to replace thousands of senior civil servants “could backfire spectacularly.” Another expert describes a Trump win as cementing China’s lead over the U.S. in clean technology and green industrial development.

Both experts will join UCLA environmental law expert Julia Stein this Monday, Sept. 30, in a webinar with California State Senator Henry Stern to discuss varying climate policy scenarios based on who takes the presidency and Congress. Comments from all three experts are below:

Julia Stein, Deputy Director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law, stated: “This presidential election is certainly a make-or-break one for climate policy—but it’s unclear what Congressional landscape the winning candidate will inherit, while an increasingly anti-regulatory Supreme Court seems, at this point, to be a given. Our panel will explore how much latitude the next presidential administration will have to push its climate agenda, and what that could look like under these different scenarios.”

Stein also noted: “Both the Biden administration and the Newsom administration in California have pushed to promote adoption of electric vehicles. Recently released data from the California Air Resources Board shows that California’s emissions are decreasing, and that reductions in transportation sector emissions are driving that emissions decrease to a substantial extent. We’ll discuss what the outcome of the election is likely to mean for progress on EVs, and how California can chart a path forward after the election.”

Ann Carlson, Shirley Shapiro Professor of Environmental Law at UCLA School of Law, commented: “Here’s one of the best kept secrets of the federal government: Nothing gets done without effective civil servants. I learned this secret firsthand in the three years I just spent at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, first as chief counsel, then as acting administrator. This secret of the federal government is why I’m so baffled by Project 2025’s proposal to give the president the power, through something called ‘Schedule F,’ to convert as many as 50,000 jobs in the federal government from career positions to political ones. The goal is to replace the most senior and influential senior federal staff with short-term political loyalists.”

Carlson added: “Project 2025’s promise to get rid of the deep state could backfire spectacularly if it were actually implemented. As someone deeply committed to environmental policies that give us a fighting chance against climate change and help clean our air, water and land, I take some comfort in thinking that if implemented, Schedule F could wreak havoc for an administration hell-bent on undermining environmental protection.”

Alex Wang, Professor and Faculty Co-Director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and Environment at UCLA School of Law said: “The outcome of the upcoming U.S. presidential election will have critical implications for U.S.’ ability to compete with China on clean technology industries of future. Given ever-increasing impacts of climate change, pressure to accelerate low-carbon transitions globally will only increase. The U.S. is already substantially behind China in green industrial development. If Trump wins, this will mean at least four years of a decidedly backward-looking vision for American energy policy and China’s opportunity to extend its lead. If Harris becomes president, U.S. will still have quite a lot of work to do to make up for lost time but it will at least have a chance.”

Journalists covering climate and environment are invited to join Monday's webinar from 12:15–1:30 p.m PT/3:15–4:30 p.m ET.