MJIL’s Fall 2018 Symposium

September 27, 2018
9:00 – 5:00 pm
University of Maryland School of Law, Krongard Room

Recording of the 2018 MJIL International Law Symposium

DESCRIPTION

In June, 2017, President Donald Trump announced that the United States intended to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. Since this whirlwind announcement, international and domestic backlash has been both swift and steady, with previous holdout nations signing on to the Agreement and participating states ramping up their efforts to meet their goals. Nearly a year and a half on, experts in the fields of international and environmental law have endeavored to answer the inevitable questions arising from the U.S.’ planned withdrawal, the most pressing among them being: what happens now?

The Maryland Journal of International Law’s Fall 2018 Symposium, Transnational Perspectives on U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, seeks to bring further awareness to this timely and far-reaching issue. The symposium will allow for international and environmental law experts—from lawyers to academics and beyond—to discuss the issues with US withdrawal and the ongoing efforts of state, local, and nongovernmental entities to combat the threat of climate change.

In addition to the issues brought about by the U.S. intent to withdraw from the Agreement, the symposium will also touch upon other significant and timely environmental issues such as implications of environmental law on other areas of international law and the right to the environment.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Financial consideration for the annual Maryland Journal of International Law Symposium has been graciously provided by The Gerber Fund. The Maryland Journal of International Law would like to thank Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd M. Gerber and their children for their support and sponsorship of our Symposium.

AGENDA

9:00 – 9:15 am | Welcome and Introductions

9:15 – 11:00 am | Panel I: The New Normal: What Withdrawal Means for the Global Fight

  • Chikosa Banda, University of Malawi
  • Cary Coglianese, University of Pennsylvania
  • Hari Osofsky, Dean, Penn State University
  • Nicholas Robinson, Pace University

    • 11:15 – 12:45 pm | Panel II: Strategies for Resistance

    • Jason Albritton, The Nature Conservancy
    • Laura Bankey, the National Aquarium
    • Maura Cowley, the Sierra Club
    • Jingjing Zhang, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

    1:15 – 2:15 pm | Lunch Address: The International Legal Character of the Paris Agreement

    2:30 – 3:45 pm | Panel III: Filling the Gap: Domestic Initiatives to Combat Climate Change

    4:00 – 5:15pm | Keynote – Ceremonial Moot Courtroom

    • Keynote speech by Vicki Arroyo, Georgetown University
    • Response from Robert Percival, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law

Browse the contents of Transnational Perspectives on U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, September 27, 2018: