The impacts of climate change are already appearing in the Bay Area and California! Impacts include large wildfires, droughts, rising temperatures, changes in the Sierra snowpack and more. A series of scientific studies now show that a hotter California will see substantial impacts on human health, important infrastructure and critical ecosystems in the coming decades. At the same time, climate disruption across the U.S. and around the globe will affect California business supply chains, food availability and prices, immigration and other important issues.

UC Berkeley’s David Ackerly and Bruce Riordan will outline the latest climate science for the Bay Area and California and preview the many ways that these significant changes will affect all aspects of our lives. Is there hope? Yes! We will look at some of the great work that the State of California, local governments and private sector innovators are doing to both prepare for climate impacts and also cut carbon pollution to slow the affects. We will spotlight the most important barriers that must be addressed head-on if we are to survive and thrive.

David Ackerly is the Dean of the College of Natural Resources (read his Speaker Spotlight to learn more about him).

Bruce Riordan is the Program Director of the Climate Readiness Institute (read his Speaker Spotlight to learn more about him).