2025
At the 2025 Seventeenth Annual Lesley K. McAllister Symposium focused on solutions to address California's high electricity costs. Policymakers, practitioners, academics, and other experts discussed a range of potential solutions to address California's high electricity costs, including utility ratemaking reform, alternative infrastructure financing mechanisms, off-bill funding sources for energy programs, net energy metering and net billing tariff reforms, fixed charges, and the role of potential Western market integration.
2024
The 2024 Sixteenth Annual Lesley K. McAllister Symposium focused on how to make energy affordable and accessible as we decarbonize the electric supply and electrify transportation and buildings. Policymakers, practitioners, academics, and other experts discussed the drivers of high electricity costs, customer impacts, and potential solutions.
2023
The Fifteenth Annual Lesley K. McAllister Symposium focused on the legal, regulatory and policy issues that arise from federal legislation to accelerate the path to net zero emissions by 2045, as the recognition of the sheer magnitude of new energy infrastructure needs, the speed of implementation required, and associated challenges are starting to be understood.
2022
The Fourteenth Annual Lesley K. McAllister Symposium on Climate and Energy Law took place on November 4, 2022. Policymakers, practitioners, academic, policy experts, and event participants discussed important aspects of how California can accelerate pathways to our goal of net zero GHG emissions by 2045.
- Keynote Panel - The heads of the three major climate and energy agencies in California discussed the challenges and opportunities of achieving net zero emissions. Discussion topics included electric affordability, the role of the Inflation Reduction Act to support California’s efforts, and the critical role of clean electricity and electric vehicles. Panelists included Chair Liane Randolph of the California Air Resources Board, President Alice Reynolds of the California Public Utilities Commission, and Chair David Hochshild of the California Energy Commission.
- Panel 1: Decarbonizing Energy Systems - This panel discussed how to decarbonize the electric grid while maintaining reliability, including the need for energy storage, significant capacity additions to the grid over the next decade, and the need to tap into demand side resources. It included representatives from SDG&E, PG&E, the California ISO, and Recurve, a company working to enhance demand flexibility.
- Panel 2: The Role of Natural Climate Solutions - Panelists discussed the role of natural and working lands to help California achieve net zero emissions, including the Governor’s 30x30 Initiative, analysis done for CARB’s Scoping Plan, academic research and habitat restoration projects happening in the San Diego region. Panelists included representatives from the California Air Resources Board, California Natural Resources Agency, San Diego State University, and San Diego Audubon.
- Panel 3: The Role of Carbon Capture, Removal, and Storage - This panel discussed the legal, policy, and equity implications of removing carbon from emissions sources and the atmosphere and storing it for long periods of time. Panelists included academic experts from Stanford, Northwestern Universities, and Louisiana State University, and an expert in equity from Foundation for Climate Restoration
2021
The Thirteenth Annual Lesley K. McAllister Symposium on Climate and Energy Law took place in a two-day webinar on November 5th and 12th, 2021. Academics, practitioners, and policy experts discussed whether our energy systems can be resilient in the face of a changing climate. The event explored two challenges related to this theme.
- Extreme Weather - This event will explore whether our energy systems are prepared for increasingly common extreme weather events, including heatwaves, ice storms, wildfires, and floods.
- Decarbonization - This event will explore whether our energy systems are prepared to handle a range of climate solutions, including decarbonization of electricity and electrification of transportation and buildings.
2020
The Twelfth Annual Lesley K. McAllister Symposium on Climate and Energy Law, took place in a two-day webinar on November 6th and 13th, 2020. Academics and policy experts discussed what lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic can be applied to climate risk and resilience.
- Role of Government – What is the proper role of government and the private sector to prepare for climate risk? What legal impediments frustrate action? Does federalism help or hurt our ability to prepare for and respond to disasters? What can we learn from examples of how local, state and national governments and global institutions have responded to COVID-19?
- Investment and Insurance – How will climate change affect investment and insurance decisions? In particular, how will we address the built environment in the face of climate impacts? What are the legal issues around managed retreat? Is there an upside to investing in infrastructure, devices, and methods that enhance resilience? How is risk factored into today’s decisions?
- Equity - How will climate impacts affect vulnerable communities? Are there useful parallels between how COVID-19 has affected these populations and how they will be affected by climate impacts? How will climate impacts affect communities differently and does this warrant different adaptation and resilience strategies?
2019
The eleventh annual Symposium, which took place November 8, 2019, discussed how the recent wildfires and power shut-off events throughout California have highlighted the challenge of operating an electric utility in a changing climate. During the event regulators, utility executives, scholars, and other experts discussed:
- California’s Public Safety Power Shut-off policy
- Wildfire cost recovery
- Utility fire prevention programs
- Research on future wildfire dangers
- Utility long-term planning
- Social equity implications
2018
The tenth annual Symposium, which took place on November 9, 2018, explored changes to climate and energy policy made under the Trump presidency. The discussion included Federal policy expanding fossil fuels under Trump, how these policies affect California's climate goals, and how these policies on fossil fuels affect pathways to long-term decarbonization. They Keynote Panel featured Representative Scott Peters and California Air Resources Chair Mary Nichols. In addition, agency representatives, practitioners
2017
The ninth annual Symposium took place on November 3, 2017. The discussion included the transition from the Obama presidency to the Trump presidency marking a significant change in approaches to climate and energy policy. The current Administration has stated its intent to reverse much of the Obama era climate and energy policy and regulation. At the University of San Diego’s Ninth Annual Climate & Energy Law Symposium<, state leaders, practitioners, and legal scholars analyzed and assessed a range of related topics on three panels.
2016
The eighth annual Lesley K. McAllister Symposium on Climate and Energy Law took place on November 4, 2016. The discussion focused on trends in the Western U.S., including regional expansion of the California’s Independent Operator (CAISO), regional climate and energy policy approaches, and state approaches to climate and energy policy in the West.
2015
The seventh annual Symposium took place on November 7, 2015 and featured a keynote panel with Congressman Scott Peters (D-52) and Ken Alex, Executive Director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Research and Senior Policy Advisor to Governor Jerry Brown. Speakers discussed the legal challenges and state responses to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan, the role of subnational entities, including state, provinces, and cities in international climate agreements, and expectations for the Paris Climate talks.
2014
The sixth annual Symposium took place on November 7, 2014 and featured a keynote panel with Jon Wellinghoff, Stoel Rives Partner and former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and Jim Avery, Senior Vice President of Power Supply at San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E). Speakers discussed options for the utility of the future, the role of distributed technologies as drivers of change, and possible regulatory models compatible with the future of the electric grid.
2013
The fifth annual Symposium, which took place on November 8, 2013, featured keynote addresses by Congressman Scott Peters and Virgil Welsh, Special Assistant to Chair Mary Nichols at the California Air Resources Board. Speakers discussed the strengths and weaknesses of California’s cap-and-trade program, the outlook for emission reductions in the transportation sector, and the promotion of low-carbon energy, particularly solar energy.
2012
The fourth annual Symposium, which took place on November 9, 2012, featured keynote addresses by then California Energy Commission Commissioner Carla Peterman and Ken Alex, Senior Advisor to Governor Jerry Brown and Director of the Office of Planning and Research. Speakers discussed the rules that govern the electricity grid change to incorporate distributed generation, the possibilities for generating energy at the neighborhood and community levels, and the legal and policy innovations at the federal, state and local levels needed to accommodate a distributed energy future.
2011
The third annual Symposium took place on April 15, 2011 and featured a keynote address by Jon Wellinghoff, Chairman of the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Panelists discussed the role of states in renewable energy development, policies to encourage clean energy and energy efficiency, and the balance between renewable energy development and environmental concerns.
2010
The second annual Symposium took place on April 9, 2010 and featured a keynote address by Jody Freeman, Professor of Law at Harvard University and Former White House Counselor for Energy and Climate Change. Panelists discussed market mechanism and tax law options to reduce greenhouse gases and whether traditional legal and policy mechanisms are still relevant. The 2010 Symposium also included a workshop on the challenges of and opportunities for siting renewable energy systems, which included a keynote presentation by former California Energy Commissioner John Geesman.
2009
The inaugural Climate and Energy Law Symposium took place on February 20, 2009. The keynote speaker was Mary Nichols, chairman of the California Air Resources Board. Panelists discussed whether states law and policy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are pre-empted by federal law and ways to integrate state and federal actions.