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This webinar will teach climate and health advocates how to use a free, easy-to-use, online modeling tool to demonstrate the vital importance of climate and energy policy for protecting public health and reducing premature death. Participants will get an advance look at the newly updated model with added public health capabilities.

• Sarah Spengeman, Deputy Director of Communications, Energy Innovation (moderator)
• Adrienne Hollis, Senior Climate and Health Scientist, Union of Concerned Scientists
• Jeffrey Rissman, Head of Modeling, Energy Innovation
• Neelu Tummala, Otolaryngologist and Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences

The Energy Policy Simulator empowers advocates to model 80 different climate and clean energy policies’ (e.g., carbon tax, vehicle emissions standards, energy-efficient building codes) ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and conventional pollutants such as NOx, SOx, and PM 2.5. The model also forecasts how reducing pollution lowers morbidity and premature mortality, while strengthening the economy and creating jobs.

Advocates will learn how the Energy Policy Simulator can educate policymakers and the public on the potential for ambitious clean energy and climate policy solutions to reduce planet-warming emissions, while dramatically reducing pollutants that contribute to respiratory disease, heart disease, and premature death.

Armed with clear and compelling data, illustrated by interactive graphs, climate and health advocates can effectively communicate why strong climate policies are a “win-win” for health and jobs.

This webinar is jointly sponsored by the American Public Health Association, Energy Innovation, and the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health.

Speakers

Adrienne Hollis

Senior Climate Justice and Health Scientist @Union of Concerned Scientists

Adrienne L. Hollis is the Senior Climate Justice and Health Scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists. In that role, she leads the development, design, and implementation of methods for accessing and documenting the health impacts of climate change on communities of color and other traditionally disenfranchised groups. Dr. Hollis works with environmental justice communities to identify priority health concerns related to climate change and other environmental assaults, and evaluates climate and energy policy approaches for their ability to effectively address climate change and benefit underserved communities. She earned a BS in biology from Jackson State University, a PhD in biomedical sciences from Meharry Medical College, a JD from Rutgers University School of Law, and completed postdoctoral studies at Harvard University School of Public Health.

Jeffrey Rissman

Head of Modeling and Industry Program Director @Energy Innovation

Jeffrey Rissman is the Industry Program Director and Head of Modeling at Energy Innovation, and leads the company’s work on technologies and policies to achieve zero net greenhouse gas emissions from the industry sector. He is also the originator and developer of the Energy Policy Simulator, an open-source computer model that quantifies the effects of various energy and environmental policies in combination, predicting outputs such as fuel use, pollutant emissions, financial cost or savings, electric vehicle deployment, power sector structure, and more. Versions of the simulator have been developed for an ever-growing list of countries and regions, in partnership with in-country government agencies or NGOs, accounting for more than 50 percent of the world’s emissions. Jeff holds an M.S. in Environmental Sciences and Engineering and a Masters in City and Regional Planning, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Neelu Tummala

Physician and Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery @George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences

Dr. Neelu Tummala is a physician and clinical assistant professor of surgery at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She is a climate advocate with a special interest in the intersection of climate and health, and is an avid speaker and writer on this issue. She is on the Steering Committee for Virginia Clinicians for Climate Action and on the Board for the Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions. She is a trained Climate Reality Leader and works with The Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Environment America as a volunteer activist and educator.