The J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Distinguished Lecture

The Third Annual J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Distinguished Lecture on Global Climate Change and Energy Law

Integrating Obligations under International Environmental Law in the Regulation of International Maritime Transport Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Tuesday, October 29, 2024 | 3:30 - 5 pm

Jacob Burns Moot Courtroom

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Please join the GW Law Environmental and Energy Law Program for its third annual Shapiro Distinguished Lecture. The lecture celebrates the work and leadership of Professor Arnold Reitze, who, founded GW Law's Environmental and Energy Law Program in 1970 and directed the program until his retirement in 2008. Professor Reitze is the author of seven books and more than 100 research studies and articles on environmental law. His most recent book is Air Pollution Control and Climate Change Mitigation Law (2010). The Shapiro Distinguished Lecture features globally recognized leaders to address pressing issues in climate change and energy law to inform and inspire the GW Law and greater campus community, the Washington, DC legal community, and the global community.

This year's lecture features Dr. Beatriz Martinez Romera, Associate Professor of Environmental and Climate Change Law and Head of the Research Center for Climate Change Law and Governance (CLIMA) at the University of Copenhagen Faculty of Law. Her lecture on integrating obligations under international environmental law in the regulation of international marine transport greenhouse gas emissions will be followed by Q&A session with our in-person and online audiences.

Abstract

In 2023, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted a Revised Strategy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from international shipping that seeks to decarbonize the shipping industry through meaningful mid-term measures, including a carbon pricing mechanism and a fuel standard. In establishing and designing these measures, a number of legal issues arise, including legal norms and principles related to the IMO regime (and the instruments within it, notably MARPOL) and the climate change regime (the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement). However, international human rights law, other dimensions of international environmental law, and principles of energy justice are also at issue. This lecture explores these topics and discusses how the obligations of states under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea regime (specifically after the Advisory Opinion on Climate Change from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea) and state responsibilities under international human rights law play a role in the regulation of international maritime transport greenhouse gas emissions at the IMO.

 

Event Schedule

3:30 pm: Welcome Remarks

3:45 pm: Introduction of Dr. Beatriz Martinez Romera

4 pm: Shapiro Distinguished Lecture

4:40 pm: Q&A

Download Event Program (PDF)

Speaker

Dr. Beatriz Martinez Romera

Dr. Beatriz Martinez Romera

Dr. Beatriz Martinez Romera is an Associate Professor of Environmental and Climate Change Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Copenhagen, and the Head of the Research Centre on Climate Change Law and Governance (CLIMA). She also serves as Co-director of the Copenhagen Center for Disaster Research (COPE) at the University of Copenhagen. Dr. Martinez Romera specializes in international environmental law, climate change governance, and the legal dimensions of sustainable energy transitions. Her work focuses on the development of innovative regulatory frameworks to address complex environmental challenges.

Dr. Martinez Romera earned her PhD in Law from the University of Copenhagen in 2015, and she holds an MSc in Political Science and Government, an LLM in Law from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from Universidad CJC, Madrid. Her academic career is distinguished by extensive teaching roles, including Coordinator for the Courses Group on International Law and lecturer for masters courses such as Climate Change and the Law, International Environmental Law, and International Energy Law and Sustainability, at various universities, and supervising PhD theses since 2018.

As a Principal Investigator (PI), Dr. Martinez Romera has successfully secured and led multiple high-impact research projects. In her role as PI, Dr. Martinez Romera has overseen projects funded by a diverse array of prestigious grants, including the Independent Research Fund Denmark for the "Enhancing Climate Action through International Law (EnAct)" project and the Carlsberg Foundation's "International Law-Making: Actors in Shipping and Climate Change (InterAct)" initiative. Her leadership extends to the coordination of the EU Jean Monnet three-year grant for the establishment of a course on Transatlantic Climate and Energy Law, showcasing her commitment to fostering academic and policy dialogue in this critical area. Currently, she partakes on "Specify and Protect the EU Social Contract (EXPRESS2)" project, funded by the Horizon EU grant, focusing on the intersections of climate change, biodiversity, and social contracts. She is also the PI for the "Regulatory Innovation to Incentivize Green Hydrogen (RIGHydro)" project, funded by Innovation Fund Denmark, which explores regulatory frameworks to promote green hydrogen as a key component in the transition to sustainable energy.

Additionally, Dr. Martinez Romera has been instrumental in founding a number of environmental research networks such as TRAMEREN - Transatlantic Maritime Emissions Research Network with NYU School of Law. She also leads the Climate Breakfast Seminar Series and the Interdisciplinary Seminar Series on Climate, Energy and Sustainability, as well as the Climate Show Podcast, facilitating interdisciplinary engagement and public discourse on climate issues.

Her extensive publication record and over 200 presentations, chairing sessions, and keynote addresses at international conferences and UN climate negotiations reflect her prominent role in shaping discourse on climate and environmental law. Dr. Martinez Romera's work not only advances academic understanding but also informs policy and practice, making significant contributions to global and regional climate governance.

Fall 2023 Shapiro Distinguished Lecture