Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Climate change conference will feature small islands

A celebrated US law school will this month host an academic conference tackling the legal options for Island nations threatened by climate change.


The Center for Climate Change at Columbia Law School announced that it would host a conference titled “Threatened Island Nations: Legal Implications of Rising Seas and a Changing Climate,” discussing the ramifications of islands nations, like Bermuda, being submerged by rising sea levels.

Along with discussing long term strategies that could prevent such a catastrophe, the conference is intended to tackle difficult legal questions, such as if larger countries have an obligation to take in displaced people, or if a nation can maintain statehood and sovereignty without a physical nation.

Marshall Islands President, Jureland Zedkaia, and Foreign Affairs Minister, John Silk, are both scheduled to take part in the conference, along with dozens of government officials, diplomats, lawyers, academics and scientists.

The conference will take place May 23 to 25 at Columbia Law School in New York, and will be webcast live on Twitter. More >>>

Useful website: www.law.columbia.edu.

Location:George Town, Cayman Islands