Debates on Draft: 2035 Climate Goals
**Events may have been canceled or postponed. Please contact the venue to confirm the event.
Date & Time
Tue, Dec 01 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Address (map)
2840 De La Vina Street, Ste C/D, Santa Barbara, CA 93105
Venue (website)
Validation Ale
Will We Reach our 2035 Climate Goals: A Debate presented by NCEAS & the UCSB Affiliates
Tuesday, December 1st, 2026
6:00 PM at Validation Ale (Funk Zone)
Can we still meet our 2035 climate goals?
The clock is ticking. Climate targets that once felt distant are now just years away, and the question of whether we can still reach them is more urgent than ever. Two experts go head to head in a live debate: UC Santa Barbara’s Leah Stokes says yes, and World Wildlife Fund’s Becky Chaplin-Kramer says no. Come hear from both sides, ask your questions, and cast your vote!
Meet our debaters:
Leah Stokes
Leah Stokes is the Anton Vonk Associate Professor of Environmental Politics at UC Santa Barbara, where she studies energy, climate, and environmental politics. Her research focuses particularly on climate and clean-energy policy, political behavior, and the political forces that accelerate or impede the energy transition.
She is also a faculty member with UCSB’s 2035 Initiative, which develops actionable roadmaps for rapidly cutting climate pollution, and co-host of the climate podcast A Matter of Degrees. Her newest book, The Carbon Wave, examines the political story behind the Inflation Reduction Act and the effort to enact transformational U.S. climate policy.
Becky Chaplin-Kramer
Becky Chaplin-Kramer is Global Biodiversity Lead Scientist at World Wildlife Fund and Director of the Collaborative Network on Valuing Earth Information. Her work focuses on understanding how changes in climate, land use, biodiversity, and ecosystems affect people and how science can inform decisions at scales ranging from individual landscapes to the entire planet. She previously served as a lead scientist with the Natural Capital Project and has worked extensively on global ecosystem assessments, conservation scenarios, Earth observations, and incorporating the value of nature into decision-making. She is also co-chair of the upcoming IPBES Global Assessment.
She helps lead one of NCEAS’ Morpho Initiative working groups. Her project aims to support conservation policy by developing the Nature Health Index, a tool that will integrate diverse ecological data to provide an overall “score” for the health of various ecosystems.
About Debates on Draft
Environmental science, spirited discussion, and a chance to change your mind.
NCEAS and UCSB Affiliates host debates where experts take opposing sides on pressing environmental challenges, with the goal of changing minds along the way. You’ll vote before and after, with opening arguments, moderated discussion, rapid-fire questions, and your own questions in between. The winner isn’t whoever gets the most votes, but whoever changes the most minds.
Since 1995, the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) has been a global leader in environmental data science—ranking in the top 1% of ecological research institutions. We accelerate discoveries that deepen understanding of our planet and drive solutions for people and nature.
Learn more at nceas.ucsb.edu
The UCSB Affiliates is led by a volunteer board of community members and campus representatives passionate about creating innovative and community- centered programming. The goal of the UCSB Affiliates is to build and celebrate connections between UC Santa Barbara and the greater Santa Barbara community. We provide a pathway for community members to learn more about UC Santa Barbara and participate in campus activities. Through our events and newsletters, we highlight exciting campus-community partnerships and initiatives.
Learn more at communityrelations.ucsb.edu/ucsb-affiliates
