In the News: Paris COP-21 Side Event

In the News: Washington College of Law Hosts “All Eyes on Paris” Symposium on the Global Agreement on Climate Change

On November 11, 2015 the Sustainable Development Law & Policy brief at Washington College of Law hosted its annual symposium and this year’s timely topic was “All Eyes on Paris: The Global Agreement on Climate Change” given the upcoming international UNFCCC negotiations in Paris in December.

The final panel of the day (pictured) was moderated by Professor David Hunter and focused on adaptation and compensation. Ira Feldman gave an overview of adaptation strategies and the need for large-scale adaptation policies, and he was followed by Alan Miller who discussed the challenges of adaptation projects. Then Adaptation Fund Secretariat Manager Marcia Levaggi (and current ILSP LL.M student) gave an overview of the various UNFCCC funds and highlighted how the Adaptation Fund works. The discussion then shifted to compensation for climate change harm. Columbia Law Professor Michael Burger noted the challenges of climate change lawsuits using several in the U.S. as examples. Then Greenpeace lawyer Naomi Ages, who heads its climate liability project, discussed both the negotiations around loss and damage and climate liability of countries and companies.