Cal Poly Climate Conference Set For Feb. 23-27
Cal Poly alumna Rairaja Cohen (Nutrition, ’23) teaches young students about parts of a plant as part of a sustainable organic farming outreach program at City Farm SLO located off Calle Joaquin in San Luis Obispo on Dec. 18, 2022.
"We want folks to start to understand what climate solutions look like"
February 2026 / NEWS STORY
by Nick Wilson
Marking the fifth consecutive academic year of the Climate Solutions Now conference, Cal Poly’s Initiative for Climate Leadership and Resilience will host its upcoming all-virtual event on Feb. 23-27.
The conference, open to the public with a variety of ticketing options, includes more than 70 talks and discussions on strategies, tools and information for climate change solutions. Topics will cover energy, water, waste, business sustainability, agriculture, education and much more.
Presenters include leaders from across the nation with expertise in a wide variety of industries and areas of specialization, including:
- Stephen Ansolabehere, a professor of government at Harvard University (presenting on electricity demand and choices)
- David Resnik, a bioethicist with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (presenting on climate debate and policy)
- Kelly Cooper, president of the nonprofit Open Source Ag (presenting on balancing farm productivity and climate commitment)
- Kristin Eberhard, vice president of Rewiring America (presenting on home electrification)
- Paul Price, head of marketing at Pavegen, representing a company that uses technology to convert walkers’ steps on paved surfaces to clean energy (presenting on green careers).
Attendees at this year’s event may learn about business innovations, sustainable campuses, regenerative agriculture, environmental justice, campus sustainability, climate communications and much more. There is also a track on “Rights of Nature,” which uses legal avenues to pursue climate goals. Author Amy Bowers-Cordalis (“The Water Remembers”) will discuss her work on the Klamath River, the largest dam-removal project in the world (completed in late 2024), and its impact on her tribe, the Yurok.
“We want folks to start to understand what climate solutions look like,” said Erin Pearse, Cal Poly’s director of the Cal Poly Initiative for Climate Leadership and Resilience. “Climate change is broad and nebulous and can be difficult to wrap your head around. We showcase many strategies in the hope that they will inspire people to move in impactful directions.”
Erin Pearse, director of Cal Poly’s Initiative
for Climate Leadership and Resilience.
Pearse said that the conference, which typically attracts more than 1,000 attendees per year, has increased awareness of career pathways, offered tips for broad climate actions solutions and shared ways to reduce carbon emissions in everyday life such as eating less meat and using public transportation when possible.
The conference has remained virtual through its five-year existence to increase the number of attendees who can participate from locations far and wide without traveling and contributing to carbon emissions. Past participants have tuned in from as far as Europe, Asia and Australia, as well as from throughout California and across the United States.
“This conference is about inspiring folks to do things that can impact the climate, which starts to stave off climate anxiety and the paralyzing effects that can come from that,” Pearse said. “Even if it’s just changing your diet once or twice a week or using an alternative form of transportation, by altering certain habits people can help reduce the carbon footprint and save money in the process.”
College and high school students are eligible for discounted and even free tickets with instructor access request forms filled out. For more information about the Climate Solutions Now event, click here.
