Panama is the Founder and Executive Director of the Building Decarbonization Coalition (BDC), a multi-sector forum working to phase out fossil fuel use in buildings through policy acceleration, partnerships, and consumer inspiration across America. He last spoke at CABEC’s 2019 Conference at Asilomar Conference Center in Monterey and shocked the room with his predictions about the coming electrification movement. Boy, was he right on then, and he’s sure to bring his passion and knowledge to share more truths with us at CABEC 2026.

Previously, Panama was the European Director of the Investor Confidence Project where he worked to unlock capital markets for energy efficiency project development. Panama was the Advisor on Energy and Natural Resources to California Assembly Speaker John A. Perez. He has served as Deputy Director of the California Energy Commission’s Efficiency and Renewables Division and advisor for Chairwomen Douglas and Pfannenstiel. He has worked for the California Conservation Corps on vocational environmental education, and ran the Sustainable Schools program for the Division of the State Architect. Panama served on the City of Sacramento Planning Commission and the County of Sacramento Environmental Commission, and is a former board member on the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and past president of the Northern California Chapter of the USGBC. He has worked on climate solutions in over 30-countries, presented at and collaborated on products from the United Nations, the International Energy Agency and the European Commission.

Clean Energy in the West: The Hard Part is Here

Solar, wind and batteries are dominating the power grid. Electric vehicles are overtaking internal combustion engines around the world, and the economics of building electrification are better than ever. But even as geopolitical events bolster the case for clean energy independence — the Strait of Hormuz has never been more famous — the U.S. energy transition is entering its most treacherous moment yet. A combination of high electricity and gasoline prices, fresh obstacles for renewable energy, and the inherent chaos of the “mid-transition” threaten to derail the clean energy transition. What comes next? 

Sammy Roth is a columnist focused on the intersection of climate and culture. His main project is Climate-Colored Goggles, an independent newsletter seeking climate solutions in pop culture, media and sports. Previously, he was the energy reporter and climate columnist at the , where he wrote the Boiling Point newsletter and hosted the Boiling Point podcast. Before that, he covered energy and the environment for the Desert Sun and the USA Today Network.

Nick’s Take:  “Perhaps nobody is better qualified than Sammy to speak to CABEC about the fundamental transition California and other parts of the world are currently undergoing.  His reporting at The Times kept me informed for the past 5+ years on the bigger picture that CABEC is part of: the shift to cleaner energy in buildings.  After several attempts at getting him to come past CABEC Conferences, we finally won him over and I can’t wait to hear his framing of the current time.”