Climate Change Success: Prospects and Impediments

Governor Jay Inslee recently commented that climate change is ravaging Washington State and threatening our grandchildren. Year-after-year, it remains a top political and economic issue. But why?

Join us Thursday, March 26, to find out. Ken Kimmell, President of the Union for Concerned Scientists (UCS) will outline the current state of climate change as well as the prospects and impediments for success. Kimmell will place particular emphasis on U.S. policy, international negotiations, and advancements at the state level – including the successful northeastern/mid-Atlantic cap and trade program and the lessons it might offer as Washington considers its own cap and trade program.           

About Ken Kimmell 

Mr. Kimmell has more than 30 years of experience in government, environmental policy, and advocacy. He joined UCS in May 2014, after serving for three years as the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP), an agency with a $100 million budget, 800 employees, and a large staff of scientists and engineers. During his tenure at MassDEP, Mr. Kimmell oversaw all aspects of the agency, including policy development, strategic planning, budget, and management. As commissioner, he also served as chairman of the board of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), helping to prod the nine member states to reduce power plant carbon emissions by almost 50% through 2020, avoiding some 90 million tons of emissions in the region. Prior to his role as Mass DEP commissioner, Mr. Kimmell worked as general counsel at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs in Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration, working on major legislative initiatives ranging from global warming and ocean protection to the siting of wind farms.

Mr. Kimmell decided to focus his legal work on environmental issues after clerking for the U.S. District Court in San Francisco where he assisted a judge in a case involving the health effects of Agent Orange. He then moved back to the East Coast where, for nearly 17 years, he served as the director and senior attorney at a Boston-based law firm specializing in environmental, energy, and land use issues. Originally from New York, he earned his bachelor’s degree at Wesleyan University and his law degree at UCLA.