Climate change remains one of the defining global challenges of the 21st century, with recent developments in U.S. climate policy highlighting both the urgency and the complexity of international climate cooperation. In January 2026, the United States formally exited the Paris Agreement following an executive order directing withdrawal from international climate commitments, raising concerns among scientists and policymakers that reduced U.S. engagement could weaken coordinated global responses to rising emissions and climate risks. At the same time, major economies, including the European Union, China, and India, are expanding their renewable energy capacity, clean technology partnerships, and cross-border climate financing initiatives to reduce emissions while strengthening economic resilience. 

As part of LA Climate Week, the Pacific Council will host a conversation on Wednesday, April 8, at 9 am PT, to explore how the United States and other countries can work together to accelerate climate action through diplomacy, technology sharing, and coordinated policy. Members will hear from Clara Gillispie, Senior Fellow for Climate and Energy at the Council on Foreign Relations, Kate Guy, Senior Fellow and Managing Director of the Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University SIPA, and Allison Agsten, Director of USC Annenberg's Center for Climate Journalism and Communication.

Why it's important:

• Global water demand has more than doubled since 1960, with 25 countries now living under extreme water stress, meaning they use at least 80% of their renewable water supply for domestic needs annually.
• On December 31, 2025, the Federal Judicial Center published an updated "Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence," which eliminated approximately 90 pages on climate science from the document. This leaves law clerks and justices without a guide for the technical knowledge needed to handle climate cases. 
• On February 12, President Trump announced the repeal of the 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding, which stated that greenhouse gases endanger human life and has been used to justify the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions.  

To register for this webinar, visit the Zoom Registration Page.

Guest Speaker

Clara Gillispie is senior fellow for climate and energy at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). She is a leading expert on Asian energy security strategies and their implications for U.S. national interests.

Gillispie’s research explores a wide array of topics related to U.S.-Asia energy cooperation. This includes how to develop sound partnerships for addressing shared and distinct national economic, environmental, and geopolitical security concerns. She is the author of numerous policy essays and reports, including several exploring outlooks for U.S. exports of natural gas to Asia; scenarios for maximizing the role of zero-carbon solutions in various national energy mixes; and opportunities for bolstering U.S. engagements with Japan, South Korea, and regional fora such as ASEAN. Gillispie is regularly called on to brief U.S. and Asian government officials, senior industry representatives, and the media, with citations in the New York Times, Washington Post, and NPR’s Marketplace.

Gillispie joined CFR from the National Bureau of Asian Research, where she most recently served as senior advisor for trade, economic, and energy affairs. From 2016-2025, she also served as the official U.S. delegate to the Energy Research Institute Network—an East Asia Summit-linked network whose inputs are designed to inform the summit’s formal processes. Her previous fellowships include appointments at Carnegie India, the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. Earlier in her career, she also held roles with the U.S. in House Committee on Science, Technology, and Space; Detica Federal Inc. (now part of BAE Systems); and the American Chamber of Commerce in China. In addition to energy and environmental security, Gillispie researches and writes on sustainable development, public health, and technology policymaking in the Indo-Pacific.

Gillispie holds a BS in foreign service from Georgetown University and a dual MSc in international affairs from the London School of Economics and Peking University. She also attended Sophia University in Tokyo for language training.

Guest Speaker

Kate Guy is Senior Fellow and Managing Director of the Geopolitics of Climate Change and the Energy Transition at Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University SIPA.

Prior to this role, Kate was an appointee of the Biden-Harris Administration, directing the Department of State’s diplomatic efforts and interagency policy at the intersection of climate change, national security, and foreign policy. She served as a Senior Advisor to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and to the Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Oceans, and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. She formerly was a Senior Research Fellow with the Center for Climate and Security and Deputy Director of the International Military Council on Climate and Security, where she led global research and engagement on growing global threats posed by climate change.

Kate has worked in politics and international environmental policy with numerous institutions, including the U.S. Department of State, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, the Truman National Security Project, Foreign Policy for America, and the International Institute for Sustainable Development. Her research has appeared in the BBC, Bloomberg News, International Affairs, The Conversation, Forbes, The Guardian, The National Interest, Oxford Magazine, Reuters, Scientific American, USA Today, and War on the Rocks.

Kate earned her B.A. in Political Science and M.A. in International Affairs from Columbia University, focusing on foreign policy and climate change. She is pursuing a doctorate in international relations with the University of Oxford, where she has served as a lecturer in International Relations at University College, at the Blavatnik School of Government, and with the Oxford School of Climate Change. She was born and raised in Minnesota.

Moderator

Allison Agsten is the inaugural director of USC Annenberg’s Center for Climate Journalism and Communication, where she develops initiatives to bolster public understanding of – and response to – climate change. She is also executive producer of the USC energy transition podcast series, Electric Futures, and the author of a range of reports addressing climate change and the media, corporate sustainability practices, and policy-related issues.

In addition to her appointment at the Annenberg School, Agsten serves as the USC Wrigley Institute for Environment and Sustainability’s first curator. In that position, she facilitates creative expression at the intersection of art and climate on USC’s main campus and at the Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island. Agsten also provides support to faculty, staff, and students in her work as an eco-chaplain within the university’s Office of Religious Life. At USC, she is a fellow of the Los Angeles Institute of Humanities and an affiliate with the Schaeffer Behavioral Science and Policy Initiative. She is also an affiliate of the University of Alaska Anchorage Department of Biological Sciences and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Previously, Agsten has held roles in the fields of journalism, communications, and public engagement, including as a producer at CNN, Director of Communications at LACMA, and Curator of Public Engagement at the Hammer Museum. Her work has been recognized by the city and the county of Los Angeles, the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference, a range of philanthropic organizations, and local, national, and international media.

Agsten holds a BA from UCLA and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.

 

To register for this webinar, visit the Zoom Registration Page.