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

Thu, 17 November, 2022 5:30pm - 6:30pm
Dr. Damilola Headshot

Please join the GW Law Environmental and Energy Law Program for this inaugural lecture that 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 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, D.C. legal community, and the global community.

The lecture will feature Dr. Damilola Olawuyi, SAN, who will present on "The Search for Climate and Energy Justice in the Global South: Shifting from Global Aspirations to Local Realization."

ABSTRACT: How does the law regulate justice and human rights risks in energy investments, climate action, policies, and projects? With the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there has been a significant rise in policies and projects aimed at addressing the problem of climate change, promoting energy efficiency, and advancing energy access to the over 1 billion people that do not have access to reliable energy. Despite the importance of these efforts, large climate and energy projects have also been linked with land grabs, forced displacements, gender injustice and other complex human rights violations across the world, especially in the Global South where a significant proportion of the world’s energy poorest people live. Understanding justice and human rights risks in climate action and energy access projects, and the legal frameworks and tools to address them, is essential for effective risk management especially as states and business enterprises design and implement net-zero and sustainability initiatives.

This presentation offers critical perspectives on the search for climate and energy justice in the Global South. It discusses law and governance innovations for designing and implementing just, inclusive, and rights-based climate and energy policies that balance net-zero and human rights objectives.


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