Stuart Beck, Ambassador for Oceans and Seas, Permanent Mission of Palau, will address climate change from the perspective of Palau, an island country in the Western Pacific Ocean that is particularly threatened by rising sea levels. He will provide insight into the ways the UN system creates opportunities for small countries to make their voices heard and into the obstacles faced by countries promoting more proactive policies on climate change.
4:00-5:30 p.m.-O'Hara Student Center, 4024 O'Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
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Stuart Beck
Ambassador Beck was retained by Palau to assist in its drive for sovereignty. He represented the country in its petition to the UN Trusteeship Council for independence and in the negotiations with the United States which resulted in it becoming a member state in 1994. In 2004 he became Palau’s first Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and served until September, 2013, when he became Palau's first Ambassador for the Oceans and Seas, charged by President Remengesau with advocating for a Sustainable Development Goal exclusively on Oceans. He is Chairman of the Sustainable Oceans Alliance, a multi-stakeholder organization.
During Ambassador Beck's time at the United Nations, Palau led several important initiatives, including calls for moratoria on deep-sea bottom trawling and shark-finning, the creation of a worldwide shark sanctuary movement which now includes twelve countries, a resolution calling for recognition of the security implications of Climate Change (A/RES/63/281), and a resolution seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on state responsibility for damaging greenhouse gas emissions. The latter resolution was the subject of a seminar he co-taught at Yale Law School last year.
Ambassador Beck served twice as a Vice-President of the General Assembly and Member of the General Committee, elected by the Asia-Pacific group, and founded the Ambassadors for Responsibility on Climate Change (ARC) in 2011. He attended Harvard College (A.B. 1968) and Yale Law School (J.D. 1971) and currently lives in Bronxville, NY and Koror, Palau.
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Registration is only required for groups larger than five.
To register contact Elaine Linn (email: eel58@pitt.edu)
Click here to go to the Climate Change Dialogues mainpage.
Alliance of Small Island States website
Brad Plumer -- Can We Stop the Seas From Rising? Yes, But Less Than You Think.
William Brangham -- Paradise Lost? [Palau & other small islands – link to 13 min. video]
Jaspreet Kindra -- Will Fleeing Home Be the Last Resort as the Climate Changes?
Climate Central -- Surging Seas -- Executive Summary [United States]
Click here to go to the Climate Change Dialogues mainpage.