Broad international treaties attempting to tackle climate change have had limited effects at best, leading a handful of countries and jurisdictions to experiment with alternative strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This conference will study (1) the effectiveness of these various strategies, (2) whether they are politically viable, and (3) whether they can be scaled up. Academics and practitioners will compare and contrast experiences in both Europe and the United States in the hopes of designing more effective climate policy on both sides of the Atlantic.

This June citizens in the United Kingdom will vote on that country’s place in Europe. At a time of rising Euroscepticism there and across Europe, Great Britain will decide if it is better off facing the range of challenges to the European project—economic growth, migration, terrorism, conflict on its borders—by itself or as part of the EU. The results of the referendum will have implications for the entire UK (including Northern Ireland and Scotland), for the economic and political integrity of the EU, and for Great Britain’s ties with key continental countries and with the US.

“Safe Harbor” is gone, replaced by a new US-EU Privacy Shield agreement. What does this means for US businesses and protection of personal data? Find out from this Virtual Briefing by logging in from your home or office at noon on Tuesday, April 12, 2016.

Presenters:
Ted Dean, US Department of Commerce, Chief Negotiator of US-EU Privacy Shield
Pierluigi Perri, University of Milan, Specialist in Advance Computer Law
David Thaw, University of Pittsburgh, Specialist in Law and Information

Russia and Hungary have developed very different economies and political systems in the process of postcommunist transition. Nevertheless, a certain convergence takes place in recent years. Vladimir Putin's regime in Russia and Viktor Orban's regime in Hungary combine authoritarianism, national populism, neoliberal reforms and certain economic measures that go beyond neoliberalism. One way to understand this convergence is to study two distinct types of capitalism that emerged in Russia and in Hungary, their contradictions and the role of the state.

In this presentation both upstream (hydrocarbon exploration and production) and downstream (pipelines, refining centers, economics and policy) energy information relevant to Russia will be presented. 2015 has been an interesting year and will be reviewed in some detail. For Russia 2016 will be the year of the DUC wells (drilled but uncompleted) with continued price recovery in oil, but weak prices, oversupply and intense competition in the gas liquids and natural gas resource areas.

In collaboration with the St. Louis non-profit “Italian Film Festival USA,” we are pleased to announce the fourth edition of our three-week-long festival of contemporary, Pittsburgh-premiere Italian films; our festival begins next week, on Friday, April 1 with Francesca Archibugi’s Il nome del figlio. This year, all screenings will be on Pitt’s Oakland campus: the April 2, 8, 14, 15, and 16 screenings will be held at the Frick Fine Arts auditorium, while the April 7 screening will be held in the Cathedral of Learning, in G-24.

A German teacher from Trinity High School reached out to the Center to organize a talk for his students on Germany business and economics. The entire visit was given in German. Here are list of the presenters and the focus of each presentation:

Europe is under intense military and societal pressure from several directions: from the refugee crisis and the Syrian Conflict in the South to Russian revisionist behavior in the East and Northeast. Former Swedish Prime and Foreign Minister Carl Bildt recently said that Europe is surrounded not by a "ring of friends" but by a "ring of fire." The combination of external pressure and internal financial crisis has created a lot of friction within Europe. In addition, the US shift to the Asian-Pacific means it is no longer playing a leading role in European security affairs.

Greece is at a critical crossroads as a result of the economic and refugee crises. Join us for an interactive video conversation dealing with the increasingly precarious economic, political, and psychological relationship between the EU and one of its most stressed members. Audience participation is encouraged. For more information or to participate remotely, contact kal68@pitt.edu.

Panelists:

Dr. Despina Alexiadou, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh

The second in a series of annual UCIS professional development workshops organized for faculty and staff of community colleges in the Western Pennsylvania region with the aim of internationalizing these community college campuses. Presenters from the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University will discuss admissions, orientation, academics and student life in relation to international students attending US colleges.