Climate Politics & Physics of Law: Time, Friction and Negotiations through a Climate Justice Lens

Visiting Professor, Maxine Burkett Professor of Law William S. Richardson School of Law University of Hawai'i Global Fellow Environmental Change and Security Program Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars DETAILS Climate justice scholarship not only explores the unique challenges for frontline communities and nation-states, but it also provides a prism through which novel, emergent issues can be anticipated, understood, and equitably resolved. This talk will discuss predominant tensions in Sharm-El-Sheik, including developments in Loss and Damage, an effort for financial support that implicated decades, if not centuries, of global dynamics and had, until COP27, evaded resolution despite more than a generation of advocacy. It will also preview issues that are urgent, unprecedented, and likely to shift the very foundation of international law, including the meaning and existence of a nation-state. Maxine Burkett is currently on leave as a professor of law at the William S. Richardson School of Law and Global Fellow at the Wilson Center. An expert in the law and policy of climate change, she has published extensively in diverse areas of climate change law with a particular focus on climate justice—exploring policy responses to climate change’s impacts on vulnerable and nation states. Professor Burkett has presented her research extensively and has been cited in numerous news and policy outlets.