Climate Governance after the Paris Agreement - Panel discussion

This UCL Global Governance Institute public event comes at a critical time - with the Paris Agreement adopted in December 2015 marking a dramatic breakthrough in multilateral negotiation following years of deadlock. 

The Paris approach to global governance has been hailed by Anne-Marie Slaughter as “a model for effective global governance in the twenty-first century.”  The colossal challenge of breaking decades of multilateral gridlock had as its mantra: don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.  A hybrid of hard, soft and non-law, many of the provisions thrashed out in Paris are purposely framed in order to accelerate implementation action, with targets or “Nationally Determined Contributions” (NDCs) left to be determined by government at a later date.  Considerable debate surrounds the legal, operational and normative status of provisions within the Agreement, the promise of a range of innovative global mechanisms such as the global stocktake, for enabling new avenues for legal and political mobilisation, as well as how the agreement will connect with existing government and policy activities already underway within regional and local political systems. 

Our panel of country and international experts will take stock of the potential of the Paris Agreement to drive forward effective climate governance.  As policy-makers, practitioners and scholars seek to ratchet up the impact of the Paris Agreement, it is essential to advance understanding of how the governance objectives of the UNFCCC framework will be realised in practice.

PANEL MEMBERS:

Sharon Turner, European Climate Foundation

As Executive Director for Governance and Law, Sharon leads the organisation’s work on energy and climate governance and law. Among other things her work focuses on helping define a transparent and feasible governance system for the Energy Union in order to ensure proper implementation of the EU’s domestic and international obligations for climate and energy.

Lavanya Rajamani, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi

Lavanya Rajamani is professor at CPR, where she researches legal issues relating to the environment (in particular climate change), international law, and human rights. She has authored or edited several books on international environmental law, is a frequent contributor to periodicals and academic journals, and has written reports and working papers for organisations including the International Law Association, the World Bank, and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Jacob Werksman, International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development

Jacob Werksman joined the European Commission in April 2012 as Principal Adviser to Directorate General for Climate Action, where his work focuses on the international dimensions of European climate policy. His responsibilities include leading aspects of the European Union negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and advising the Commission with regard to international partnerships to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including through the International Civil Aviation Organization. 

Franck Lecocq,Centre International de Recherche sur l’Environnement et le Développement.

Franck Lecocq is lecturer at AgroParisTech, and director of CIRED. Franck’s research focuses on the economics of climate change, including, inter alia, inter- and intra-generational equity, relationships between climate change and development, carbon markets, and the role of forests in climate policy. Franck Lecocq is a lead author of the IPCC 4th and 5th Assessment Reports (Working Group III). He is also a member of the French Economic Council for Sustainable Development.

CHAIR: David Coen (GGI Director)

This event is organized in collaboration with the UCL Centre for Law and Environment, UCL Grand Challenges and the French Embassy Science and Technology Department.

The event is open to all, but to avoid disappointment please register.

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