The Road to Paris: Multidimensional action to address climate change
All eyes are on Paris as the deadline for negotiation of a new climate change agreement under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Conference of the Parties approaches at the end of this year. Whatever those international negotiations deliver, it is unlikely to be a panacea for the problem of climate change. Climate change is increasingly recognized to be a multiscalar, multidimensional problem that will require concerted action across many levels of government and by a range of actors, public and private. Federal action under the newly released Clean Power Plan, local action by cities and states, engagement of corporations and the private sector, and litigation and advocacy by civil society, are all likely to be part of the puzzle in developing effective climate change regulation.
This event, to be held at the University of Minnesota Law School, on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 27-28, 2015, will seek to take stock of multidimensional action to address climate change and its interaction with international efforts to reach a new climate agreement in December in Paris. The workshop is being organized by the Energy Transition Lab and Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota, together with the International Environmental Law Interest Group of the American Society of International Law.
The workshop is designed to encourage production of innovative, new scholarship on questions of climate change regulation, with a particular focus on supporting new professionals and young or emerging scholars. Participants will be required to prepare a working draft of their paper for intensive discussion and comment at the workshop.
Agenda
Day 1: October 27, 2015
8:30 – 9:00 am | Registration and Breakfast |
9:00 – 9:15 am | Welcome and Introduction to the Workshop Hari Osofsky, Professor, University of Minnesota Law School; Faculty Director, Energy Transition Lab; Co-Chair, ASIL International Environmental Law Interest Group |
9:15 – 10:15 am | Where We Are on the Road to Paris Group discussion: participants each give brief (2 min or less) views on most important questions and then group brainstorms key issues in negotiations and the broader climate change context. |
10:15 – 10:45 am | Break |
10:45 – 11:35 am | State and Local Action to Address Climate Change Moderator: Kathryn Milun, Associate Professor, Sociology/Anthropology Department, University of Minnesota, Duluth; Founder and Director of the Solar Commons Project
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11:40 – 12:30 pm | Federalism and the Clean Power Plan Moderator: Ira Feldman, President & Senior Counsel, greentrack strategies; Lecturer, Masters in Environmental Studies (MES) Program, University of Pennsylvania
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12:30 – 1:35 pm | Lunch |
1:35 – 2:25 pm | U.S. Climate Change and Energy Politics, and the Domestic/International Interface Moderator: Elizabeth Wilson, Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy and Law, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota
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2:30 – 3:20 pm | Climate and Energy Federalism Moderator: Ellen Anderson, Executive Director, Energy Transition Lab
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3:20 – 3:50 pm | Break |
3:50 – 4:40 pm | Adaptation at Multiple Scales Moderator: Randel (Randy) D. Hanson, Co-Director, Program in Environment and Sustainability Studies and Coordinator, Sustainable Agriculture Project @ UMD, University of Minnesota, Duluth
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4:45 – 5:35 pm | Transnational Action to Address Climate Change and Its Limits Moderator: Steve Kelley, Senior Fellow, Center for Science, Technology and Public Policy, Director of Graduate Studies, Master of Science in Security Technologies, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
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Day 2: October 28, 2015
8:30 – 9:00 am | Breakfast |
9:00 – 9:15 am | Introduction to Day 2 Jacqueline Peel, Professor of Law, University of Melbourne; Co-Chair, ASIL International Environmental Law Interest Group |
9:15 – 10:05 am | Corporate Action to Address Climate Change Moderator: Jennifer Gunn, Associate Professor, History of Science, Technology & Medicine; Director, Institute of Advanced Studies
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10:10 – 11:00 am | Corporate Action to Address Climate Change Moderator: Winthrop A. Rockwell, Executive Director, Green Minneapolis
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11:00 – 11:30 am | Break |
11:30 – 12:20 pm | Rethinking Institutional Responses Moderator: Brad Karkkainen, Henry J. Fletcher Professor in Law, University of Minnesota Law School
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12:20 – 1:30 pm | Lunch and Discussion of Next Steps |