Zealan Hoover ’13 delivers keynote on climate optimism for University Research Week
October 31, 2024 Watch Video
Carolina alumnus Zealan Hoover ’13 stood in front of a room full of students, faculty, staff and community members in the CURRENT ArtSpace+Studio on Franklin Street. He asked attendees to share a couple of words about how they feel about the future of the climate. Audience members scanned a QR code and typed their words into their phones. A word cloud appeared on a big screen, highlighting the most cited words ranging from “nervous” to “cautiously optimistic.”
“I have felt all of these feelings at various points in time,” Hoover said. “The topic of this talk is ‘A Case for Climate Optimism,’ but I’m not here to gaslight anyone and say don’t be concerned. I’m deeply anxious about climate change, that’s why I work at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and focus on climate change every day.”
Hoover, now a senior advisor to the administrator and director of implementation at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, delivered a special keynote address hosted by the UNC Institute for the Environment on Oct. 23 in celebration of University Research Week. This year’s Research Week highlighted the real-world application of foundational research to solve the world’s challenges.
Hoover’s talk began with a short history of the climate in modern times. Starting in the 1950s, there was a dramatic increase in global greenhouse gasses, correlating with the immense global economic growth after World War II and, in turn, the steady increase of global temperatures relative to the preindustrial baseline, Hoover showed in a graph.
“We are at this inflection point where today temperatures are at 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit above the preindustrial average,” he said. “We have a choice about what trajectory we are going to be on going forward.”
The good news, he said, is we are making progress. Over the last decade, there has been a downshift from a high emissions trajectory to a lower emission trajectory in the U.S. and globally. U.S. emissions are down 15%. But, not only have emissions decreased, he explained, the economy has doubled in size.
“Each of you has the potential to play a role in continuing to shift the future outlook,” he said.
Hoover discussed some of the policies that are currently tackling climate issues in the U.S. After rejoining the Paris Agreement in 2021, President Joe Biden resubmitted the United States’ goals, which were more ambitious than previous goals and committed the U.S. to a 50-52% emissions reduction by 2030. In addition to utilizing all of their regulatory authorities related to power plants, vehicles and other emission sources, the Biden administration enacted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to accelerate decarbonization in the U.S., with the aim of achieving net zero emissions by 2050.
“About half of U.S. emissions are transportation and electric power. The other half of emissions are the industrial sector, buildings and agriculture,” Hoover pointed out. “We’re making big investments in all of these areas.”
Hoover noted he was excited about all of the investments in technology because they will measurably reduce emissions.
In North Carolina, for example, the state is filling in gaps in the high-speed charging network for electric vehicles across the state, using this new federal funding.
Investments are not just for utility-scale projects, he added. Many programs focus on bringing technology to low-income and disadvantaged communities, such as the Solar for All program, which will give these communities access to the benefits of solar energy.
Hoover also is enthusiastic about the mobilization of industry, furthering the acceleration of decarbonization while at the same time creating good jobs, promoting economic growth and positioning the U.S. to lead in the next generation of energy technologies.
Looking ahead, there are challenges that society and the world will need to solve to improve the climate. From implementing great policy, to building a clean economy, to financing the energy transition, to designing new markets, to shaping global collations, and research and innovation, students will have the opportunity to get involved in new positions and take part in solving the climate issues of the future.
“These are challenges that are not going to get solved in Washington,” Hoover said. “These are decisions that are being made by local governments, state utility commissions, state legislatures, regional power markets, and so these are really important challenges that need to get solved all across the country.”
Hoover talked about ways students can get involved through careers, such as diplomatic roles that help push other countries to be more ambitious in their energy transitions, or go work abroad and help other countries solve decarbonization challenges. There are also research-oriented, private-sector, government and public policy roles here in the U.S.
“When I graduated from Carolina…I thought I was going to be an education policy person,” Hoover said, but after a few years into his position at the White House, he had the opportunity to move into the climate space.
“There’s a lot of opportunity to move around throughout your career,” he concluded.
For the past three years Hoover has led EPA’s implementation of more than $100 billion in programs authorized under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. Prior to that, he worked in the private sector advising organizations on a wide range of strategic and operational matters with an emphasis on decarbonization and managing climate risk. From 2013-2017 he worked at the White House, first on the Domestic Policy Council and then in the Office of the Chief of Staff, supporting domestic and international climate agenda, including the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. In 2013, Hoover graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he was a Morehead-Cain Scholar.