Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs
Climate Solutions Lab

Leah Stokes — Making Climate Policy: The Inflation Reduction Act

Thursday, March 2, 2023

4:30pm – 5:30pm

True North Classroom, Stephen Robert '62 Hall, 280 Brook Street

Reception to follow

An expert in climate and energy policy, Leah Stokes is the author of the award-winning book Short Circuiting Policy, which examines the role of utilities in undermining regulation and promoting climate denial. She was named to 2022 TIME100 Next and Business Insider 2022 Climate Action 30 lists. Trained at MIT, Columbia, and the University of Toronto, Stokes has been published in top scholarly journals, as well as the New York TimesWashington Post, and other popular media outlets. She is the Anton Vonk Associate Professor of Environmental Politics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, a senior policy consultant at Rewiring America, and co-host of the climate podcast “A Matter of Degrees.

Dr. Leah Stokes is the Anton Vonk Associate Professor of Environmental Politics in the Department of Political Science at the University of California Santa Barbara. She is also affiliated with the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management and the Environmental Studies Department. Stokes focuses her research on climate policy and politics. Her recent book Short Circuiting Policy examines why we are behind on climate action, telling the history of electric utilities promoting climate denial and delay. It was named the Best Energy Book of 2020 by the American Energy Society, listed as a top 5 climate book from 2020 by The New York Times, and won 3 awards from the American Political Science Association. For her exceptional engaged scholarship, Stokes was recently recognized on the 2022 TIME100 Next and Business Insider Climate Action 30 lists. Her academic work is published in top journals and is widely read and cited. She is quoted frequently in national media, has written for top outlets including The New York Times, and hosts a popular climate podcast, “A Matter of Degrees.”