Senator Pavley was the keynote speaker at the 2019 Citizen’s Climate Lobby (CCL) Southern California Regional Conference that took place at Cal State University of Los Angeles. Her presentation covered California’s climate policies and the importance of building coalitions to pass such legislation.
CCL’s Regional Conference is a two-day nonpartisan event that brings together activists from various backgrounds including policy experts, influencers, and university professors and students to strategize for climate action. The Conference is an opportunity for both newcomers and seasoned CCL members to gather, learn, inspire each other, and strategize.
Unsurprisingly, Senator Pavley was asked to speak about the role coalitions played in the passage of her climate bills. Senator Pavley, who was the only elected official featured as a speaker, gave a high-level overview of California’s climate policies and showed how support for climate bills drastically grew throughout the years. She used her bills: the clean car law, AB 1493 and the Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32 as an example. Since the passage of AB 1493 in 2002, support for climate legislation tripled by the time AB 32 was passed in 2006.
She attributed the successful passage of her climate bills in part to the engagement of all sectors including businesses, inter-faith organizations, environmental organizations, and effective nonpartisan communication. Senator Pavley’s legacy aligned with CCL’s mission of a nonpartisan approach to climate education and solutions.
Senator Pavley ended her presentation with a call to climate action for the hundreds of guests present. She listed numerous ways for people of all ages to become actively engaged including educating themselves about the most effective climate policies, creating coalitions to support those measures, and selecting the most compelling message to deliver to appropriate audiences.