Jamesine Rogers Gibson

Western states senior climate analyst

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Jamesine Rogers Gibson is the Western states senior climate analyst for the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. Ms. Rogers Gibson conducts research and policy analysis to inform and build support for robust climate policies in California and the Western states. See Jamesine's full bio.

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Jamesine's Latest Posts

California’s Infrastructure Earns a C-. We Need More Equitable and Climate-Safe Infrastructure Now

May 17, 2019 5:18 PM EDT

I count on the quality and reliability of our roads, water and wastewater systems, and electric grid to help me keep my daughter safe from harm and provide an environment where she can thrive. Many other parents do, too. These expectations seem reasonable. They will, however, become even harder to meet in the face of continued underinvestment and disinvestment in communities and more frequent and severe climate-related extreme events here in California and beyond. These issues must be key considerations in infrastructure decisions and solutions moving forward. Read more >

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Climate-Safe Infrastructure for All: California Working Group Report Provides Comprehensive Recommendations

September 5, 2018 4:53 PM EDT

Nearly two years ago, the Climate-Safe Infrastructure bill (AB 2800, Quirk, 2016) became law and established the Climate-Safe Infrastructure Working Group (CSIWG) to develop recommendations to the California legislature on how to build and design our infrastructure to be safer for Californians in the face of growing climate extremes. Since then, unprecedented wildfires and mudslides, record-breaking temperatures and precipitation have added an exclamation point to the importance of this group’s work in preparing our infrastructure to keep us safe, as we’ve experienced the risks and what’s at stake. Today, the CSIWG released its report, Paying it Forward: The Path Toward Climate-Safe Infrastructure in California, which recommends an ambitious and attainable path forward.

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CSIWG, Paying It Forward
CSIWG, Paying It Forward
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The wildfires in northern California in 2017 destroyed more than 8,000 structures, exacerbating the existing housing crisis and creating a jobs shortage for low-income workers, especially farm workers, domestic workers, and workers in the tourism industry. Photo: National Guard

Why Climate Change and Equity Matter for Infrastructure: An Interview with Chione Flegal of PolicyLink

February 13, 2018 9:46 AM EDT

I recently sat down with Chione Flegal, Senior Director at PolicyLink, a national institute advancing racial and economic equity, to discuss climate risks to vulnerable communities, and the important role “climate smart” infrastructure can play in achieving healthy, thriving communities in the face of climate change. Read more >

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Wildfires across the West threaten critical infrastructure. Photo: Tim Williams. CC-BY-2.0 (Wikimedia)

Climate change is here. Can California’s infrastructure handle it?

November 20, 2017 3:55 PM EDT

A new white paper released by UCS today – Built to Last: Challenges and Opportunities for Climate-Smart Infrastructure in California –makes the case for investing limited public resources in infrastructure that can withstand climate change impacts and keep Californians safe. Read more >

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View of Oroville Dam's main spillway (center) and emergency spillway (top), February 11, 2017. The large gully to the right of the main spillway was caused by water flowing through its damaged concrete surface, resulting from heavy rainfall. Photo: California Department of Water Resources.

Infrastructure Spending Is Coming. Climate Change Tells Us to Spend Wisely

May 19, 2017 7:43 PM EDT

The news of new federal infrastructure proposals landed in a timely fashion with this year’s Infrastructure Week. For years now, the American Society of Civil Engineers has graded the U.S.’s infrastructure at near failing (D+) .Conversations in Washington, D.C. and across the country over the coming weeks and months are sure to focus on which projects to build. But we first need to ask for which future are we building? radically shaped by climate change? Read more >

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