Mark your calendars and your syllabi for Conversations on Europe! This series of moderated hybrid roundtables bring together experts with diverse perspectives to discuss contemporary issues facing Europe and the Transatlantic Relationship.
This academic year, our Conversations on Europe will focus on European Sustainability.
As reported by the UN, 83% of the global population wants their governments to take stronger action on climate change. And in response to this desire, the European Union seeks to lead the way in fostering sustainability and climate responses. Hallmarks of initiatives like the European Green Deal, the EU Climate Law, and the Net-Zero Industry Act, are a commitment to becoming the first climate-neutral continent by 2050; cutting 55% of net greenhouse gas emissions by 2030; and planting 3 billion additional trees in the EU by 2030.
Will Europe achieve its goals? Do these initiatives respond sufficiently to the European citizens’ concerns? What lessons can we learn for our own considerations of sustainable development?
Join the conversation each month with our invited academics, activists, and policy makers. And let’s think about what works together.
Tuesdays from 12:30 PM- 2:00 PM ET
4217 Posvar (In Person)
Registration Link to participate virtually.
FALL 2024
Tuesday, September 3, 2024 I REGISTRATION
The History of Environmentalism: Right, Left, Center
Moderator:
Randall Halle, University of Pittsburgh
Panelists:
Iza Ding, Northwestern University
Patrick Manning, University of Pittsburgh
Stephen Milder, Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society
Reactionary? Progressive? Localist? Globalist? How do our climate politics line up? This panel will explore the history of environmentalism as a way of thinking about the spectrum of political positions in climate response.
Tuesday, October 8, 2024 I REGISTRATION
Legal Battles Against Ecocide: Civil Society Climate Initiatives and the Judicial System
Moderator:
Randall Halle, University of Pittsburgh
Panelists:
Gaëlle Cognet, Ashurst LLP
Veronica Federico, University of Florence
Elsabeth Stern, Klima Seniorinnen
Join in a conversation on criminalization of climate activists and their day in court with legal scholar Veronica Federico, Attorney Gaëlle Cognet, and one of the successful Swiss Climate Activists Elsbeth Stern.
9 April 2024 the European Court of Human Rights decided in favor of the “Climate Grannies” that the Swiss Government had failed to meet its climate responsibilities and therefore violated their human rights. The case set global legal precedent. It will have impact for years to come. In a world where 80% of the people want more action from their governments on climate change, the case’s success highlights too how the courts increasingly play a central role in the sustainability movement.
Tuesday, November 12, 2024** (In lieu of Conversations on Europe)
To Govern What We Eat
Lorna Cole, SRUC, Scotland’s Rural College
Susanne Alice Wengle, University of Notre Dame
Sponsored: REEES and ESC
Tuesday, December 10, 2024 I REGISTRATION
Economics of Climate Response
Moderator:
Randall Halle, University of Pittsburgh
Panelists:
Phoebe Koundouri, University of Cambridge