The School of Law will host a conference on international human rights and climate change Feb. 12 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Larry Walker Room of Dean Rusk Hall.
This daylong event will probe the question, “What is the relationship between human rights and climate change?” Specifically, the conference will focus on the proper role of law in managing and regulating this relationship. Through a keynote address and roundtable discussions, participants will explore topics ranging from an overview of the current state of thinking on the subject to specific impacts and the requisite role of particular institutions in the regulation of these impacts.
“This conference is a great opportunity to be at the forefront of research and guidance on a human rights approach to climate change,” said C. Blake McDaniel, executive conference editor. “This is an issue that has the potential to affect every person on this planet, and it is time for us to start laying out both the monetary and nonmonetary costs before decision makers.”
Thomas Pogge, professor of philosophy and international affairs at Yale University, will deliver the luncheon keynote address. In the address, entitled “Poverty, Climate Change and Overpopulation,” Pogge will discuss the extent to which the struggles to deal with these three phenomena are in competition with one another and/or synergistic, using a human rights standard as a common metric of assessment. Those who want to attend the luncheon should pre-register for the conference by Feb. 5.
Panel topics for the day include the United Nations’ process of linking human rights and climate change; potential human rights effects of the proposed climate change regime; litigation—including citizen suits, judicial review and access to information; human rights and environmental regulation; and climate change refugees.
The conference is sponsored by the Georgia Journal of International and Comparative Law and the law school’s Dean Rusk Center. The event is free, except for those seeking CLE credits. Only those who pre-register by Feb. 5 can attend the luncheon.
More details and registration information is available online at www.law.uga.edu/international-human-rights-and-climate-change-conference.