Unifying for the Planet

The annual Climate Forward conference, hosted in partnership with the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, brings together leaders from across the political spectrum to explore nonpartisan solutions to the challenges associated with our changing climate.

 

Climate Forward 2026

Wednesday, April 15, 2026 | 12-5 p.m.

Town & Gown Ballroom, USC main campus (665 W. Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90089)

 

Opening Plenary

Moderator Joe Árvai, Director, USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability

Michael S. Regan, 16th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency

 

Can States and Cities Lead on Climate?

Moderator Yemisi Egbewole, Former Chief of Staff and Advisor to the Biden White House Press Office

Alex Nieves, Climate Reporter, POLITICO

Mary Nichols, Attorney and Former Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency

Nancy Sutley, Deputy Mayor and Chief Sustainability Officer, City of Los Angeles

 

Is There a Republican Way Forward?

Moderator Bob Shrum, Director, USC Center for the Political Future

Claudine Schneider, Former U.S. Representative (R-Rhode Island)

Democrat Val Demings and Republican Adam Kinzinger sit on a stage with moderator Bob Shrum. Kinzinger speaks while holding his hands in front of him as Demings and Shrum listen.

Climate Forward 2025

Watch panel recordings from Climate Forward 2025.

Panel 1: The Politics of Electric Vehicles: Red State and Blue State Trends

Director of Hill Research Consultants, Republican Pollster, and Former CPF Fellow David Hill presentation on partisan divides around electric vehicles

Panel 2: Climate Policy and the Two Parties: The Search for Common Ground

Barbara Boxer: Former U.S. Senator (D-CA); Former CPF Fellow

Garret Graves: Former U.S. Representative (R-LA)

Bob Shrum (Moderator): CPF Director; Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics, USC Dornsife

Climate Forward 2024

Watch panel recordings from Climate Forward 2024: Climate at the Crossroads.

Panel 1: A Lot Done; A Lot More to Do

White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden in conversation with USC Center for the Political Future Director Bob Shrum

White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden, wearing a navy blue suit, speaks from a clear acrylic podium at USC's Climate Forward conference

Panel 2: Climate on the Ballot 2024

Fran Pavley, Environmental Policy Director, USC Schwarzenegger Institute; Former California State Senator

Tenzin Seldon, Founding and Managing Partner, Pulse Fund

Joanne Witty, Lawyer; Environmentalist; Co-Chair, Political Committee of the Environmental Defense Action Fund

Debra Kahn (Moderator), California Policy Editor, POLITICO

Fund manager Tenzin Seldon speaks while lawyer Joanne Witty and former California state senator Fran Pavley watch her intently. All are seated in a row on an orange velvet sofa on a stage.

Student Panel

JJ Flores, USC undergraduate student, International Relations and Sustainable Urban Planning

Leah Tieger, Ph.D. candidate, English (Creative Writing)

Students JJ Flores and Leah Tieger hold microphones as they sit on an orange velvet sofa on a stage. Tieger is speaking while Flores watches.