International Environmental Law
Why Attend?
International environmental law continues to grow in both its reach and impact. A wide range of multilateral environmental agreements are driving the development of new legal requirements at the international level and in countries across the globe. These include the Kyoto Protocol to the Framework Convention on Climate Change, new agreements and initiatives addressing chemicals management, new international rules on trade in Living Modified Organisms (LMOs), and new initiatives relating to access to genetic resources. In Europe, a new emissions trading regime has been adopted to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and expansive legislation for the Registration, Evaluation and Assessment of Chemicals (REACH) is nearing completion.
Threats to global biodiversity are prompting the development of new liability regimes, expanded land conservation initiatives, and new approaches to combat illegal logging. Environmental legal developments in emerging markets such as China and Brazil, and legal issues regarding trade, product stewardship, hazardous waste management, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are all of growing importance to U.S. practitioners.
What You Will Learn
This annual advanced course of study, comprising 13 hours of instruction, provides a comprehensive update on major multilateral environmental agreements and key environmental regulatory trends around the world. Over the past decade, this course has served as the leading annual program and meeting for attorneys engaged in or exploring the practice of international environmental law. It examines recent and anticipated developments and emphasizes their practical significance to practitioners and their clients in the U.S. and abroad.
The program features a Keynote Address by Claudia McMurray, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State. The course faculty comprises senior professionals with the U.S. government, international organizations, leading companies, law firms, and public interest organizations. Time is reserved throughout the program for written questions and discussion.
Planning Chairs
J. William Futrell, President, Sustainable Development Law Associates, Arlington, Virginia
Paul E. Hagen, Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., Washington, D.C.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Claudia A. McMurray, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. (invited)
Faculty
Vicki Arroyo, Director of Policy Analysis, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Arlington, Virginia
Wayne S. Balta, Vice President, Corporate Environmental Affairs and Product Safety, IBM Corporation, Somers, New York
Kenneth Berlin, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Washington, D.C.
Carl Bruch, Co-Director, International PROGRAMs, Environmental Law Institute, Washington, D.C.
Leslie Carothers, President, Environmental Law Institute, Washington, D.C.
Charles E. Di Leva, Chief Counsel, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development and International Law Practice Group, The World Bank, Washington, D.C.
Robert Donkers, Environmental Counselor, Delegation of the European Commission to the United States, Washington, D.C.
Richard "Tad" Ferris, Jr., Holland & Knight LLP, Washington, D.C.
Adam B. Greene, Vice President, Labor Affairs and Corporate Responsibility, U.S. Council for International Business, New York
Marianne Guerin-McManus, Vice President, Global Conservation Fund, Conservation International, Washington, D.C.
Richard Gutierrez, Basel Action Network, Seattle
Stephen Harper, Director of Government Affairs, Intel Corporation, Washington, D.C.
Alan D. Hecht, Director for Sustainable Development, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C.
David Hunter, Senior Advisor, Center for International Environmental Law, and Adjunct Professor, American University Washington College of Law, Washington, D.C.
Jeffrey M. Klein, Attorney-Advisor, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.
Kathleen Kunzer, Counsel, American Chemistry Council, Arlington, Virginia
K. Russell LaMotte, Beveridge & Diamond, P.C., Washington, D.C.
Daniel B. Magraw, Jr., President, Center for International Environmental Law, Washington, D.C.
Sandy Merber, Counsel, International Trade Regulation and Sourcing, General Electric Corp., Washington, D.C.
Pierre Portas, Senior Legal Counsel, Secretariat of the Basel Convention, Geneva, Switzerland
Jennifer Prescott, Director for Multilateral Trade and Environmental Policy, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Washington, D.C.
Nicholas A. Robinson, Co-Director, Center for Environmental Legal Studies, Pace University Law School, White Plains, New York
Luiz Fernando Henry Sant’Anna, Counsel, Demarest & Almeida Advogados, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Alison L. Taylor, Chief Minority Counsel, Committee on Environment and Public Works, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.
David J. van Hoogstraten, Hunton & Williams LLP, Washington, D.C.
Paul Q. Watchman, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, London, England
Kathryn Youel-Page, Attorney-Advisor, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.
Lisa Zannoni, Head of Global Biotechnology Regulatory Affairs, Syngenta, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
Program Schedule
Thursday, April 20, 2006
- 8:00 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
- 9:00 a.m. Introductory Remarks and Course Overview – Messrs. Futrell and Hagen
- 9:15 a.m. Keynote Address – Ms. McMurray
- 10:00 a.m. Capitol Hill Update: Priorities and Possibilities in the Congress – Mss. Carothers and Taylor and Mr. Harper
- 11:00 a.m. Networking Break
- 11:15 a.m. Product Stewardship and Global Supply Chains – Messrs. Balta and Merber
- 12:30 p.m. Lunch Break
- 2:00 p.m. Global Climate Change: The Kyoto Protocol, Emissions Trading in Europe, and U.S. Initiatives – Ms. Arroyo and Messrs. Berlin and Watchman
- 3:15 p.m. Networking Break
- 3:30 p.m. New Initiatives under the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Biosafety Protocol – Mr. LaMotte and Mss. Youel-Page and Zannoni
- 4:30 p.m. Global Chemical Agreements and Initiatives: Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM), and REACH – Messrs. Donkers and Klein and Ms. Kunzer
- 5:30 p.m. Adjournment for the Day
Friday, April 21, 2006
- 8:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast
- 8:30 a.m. Environmental Law Developments in Brazil and China – Messrs. Ferris, Robinson, and Sant’Anna
- 9:30 a.m. Hazardous Waste Management – Messrs. Gutierrez, Portas, and Sant’Anna
- 10:30 a.m. Networking Break
- 10:45 a.m. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – Messrs. Greene, Hunter, and Watchman
- 12:00 noon Lunch Break
- 1:30 p.m. Land Conservation and Sustainable Forestry – Mr. Di Leva and Ms. Guerin-McManus
- 2:30 p.m. Networking Break
- 2:45 p.m. Trade and Environment Update: WTO, NAFTA, and the FTAs – Ms. Prescott and Messrs. Magraw and van Hoogstraten
- 3:45 p.m. Emerging Initiatives: World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), Environmental Liability, and Sustainable Development Law – Messrs. Bruch, Futrell, and Hecht
- 5:00 p.m. Adjournment
Total 60-minute hours of instruction: 13
Suggested Prerequisite: Limited experience in legal practice in subject matter or completion of Basic CLE Course in subject matter
Educational Objective: Acquisition of knowledge and skills to develop proficiency as a practitioner; maintenance of professional competence as a practitioner; provision of information on recent legal developments
Level of Instruction: Advanced
Here's what registrants have said about this course:
Wonderful conference – my goal was to broaden my knowledge of International Environmental Law and I think the conference exceeded my expectations.
Having organized panel discussions in the past, I appreciate the difficulty in selecting timely panels of proper scope. In short, great job! The speakers were very knowledgeable and effectively conveyed relevant information.
Excellent course – timely topics and updates of key international instruments. Good mix on panels – private, public sectors essential for presenting a balanced view.
Great class! Very knowledgeable speakers with varied experience from around the world give clear perspective on what’s needed in the international law arena.
Course was run like ‘clock-work’ – no time was wasted between presentations. I have never seen a CLE class that even remotely ended on time (or schedule). This course was extremely well planned. I was impressed.
Really excellent, outstanding selection of cutting edge decision makers/leaders in field.
I took a great deal from the course and, in the only accolade worth its salt, will attend again if the course is offered.
