International Climate Change conference Oct. 30

Oct. 13, 2008 -- Distinguished environmental law and policy scholars and scientists from around the country will gather at Washington University in St. Louis to discuss "International Climate Change: Post-Kyoto Challenges," from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 30 in Anheuser-Busch and Seigle Halls.

"This is a crucial time regarding international climate change agreements," says Maxine Lipeles, J.D., director of the Interdisciplinary Environmental Clinic and senior lecturer in law. "The international community is aiming to complete negotiations by the end of 2009 on a new climate change agreement to take effect when the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012. This conference will address the critical question of what roles the world's two largest emitters - the U.S. and China - will play under the new agreement."

The conference, hosted by Washington University School of Law's Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute, is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

"The mission of the Harris Institute is to bring together policymakers, lawyers and the public to deliberate upon and find solutions to some of the pressing, intractable and complex problems of our time," says Leila N. Sadat, J.D., the Henry H. Oberschelp Professor of Law and director of the Harris Institute.

"This colloquium does just that by addressing the very difficult problem of global climate change from a legal and practical perspective."

Joyce Penner, the Ralph J. Cicerone Distinguished University Professor of Atmospheric Science at the University of Michigan, and Jonathan Wiener, the William R. & Thomas L. Perkins Professor of Law at Duke University, will give conference keynote addresses.

Penner will speak about the "Current Status in Understanding Climate Change and Climate Change Prediction." She is a member of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Wiener, who also is a professor of environmental policy and public policy studies at Duke, will discuss "Climate Change in a Multipolar World."

Conference panel discussions in the morning will focus on "Challenges and Opportunities in Bringing U.S. & China into a Post-Kyoto Agreement." The keynote address luncheon at noon will be followed by a session from 2-4 p.m. on climate-related career opportunities.

To register for the conference or for a complete list of panelists, visit http://law.wustl.edu/higls/indexclimate.asp or contact Linda McClain, assistant director and conference coordinator for the Harris Institute at 314-935-7988 or lmcclain@wulaw.wustl.edu.

This conference offers 5.5 MCLE credits.