Global Research Seminar (Burke-White)
Faculty
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| William W. Burke-White Professor of Law wburkewh@law.upenn.edu |
Additional Information
Skills Training
Oral Presentations
Team Projects
Drafting Legal Documents
Grading
40% Participation,
60% Paper,
Other ( This is a collective team effort across the semester including our trip to the COP meetings in Egypt. Active, engaged and thoughtful participation will be required throughout the semester and will be a major component of the grade. Students will be expected to complete an individual research paper on a topic related to subnational participation in the UN climate negotiation. The class as a whole will produce a white paper for the UNFCCC that will also factor into the grade.)
Yes
Class meets in person.
Course Continuity
Students are encouraged to stay home if you are ill or experience flu-like symptoms. If you miss a class for any reason, it is still your responsibility to make up the work missed.
I offer the following to students who miss class due to illness:
- If you are absent, due to illness or some other unavoidable circumstance, email me and I can ask for volunteers among your classmates to share their notes with you.
- When you are better, please make an appointment to meet with me and I will review/answer questions about what you missed.
Meeting Times/Location
T 1:00PM - 2:45PM
Tanenbaum Hall 345
Category
Seminar
Credits
3.0
This seminar will explore the role of subnational actors in the UN climate negotiation process through direct participation in the annual Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The international law of climate change, including the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, are fundamentally a state-based negotiating process of the countries that have ratified these treaties. Yet, mitigating the effects of climate change and adapting to new climate realities requires the broad participation of a broader range of actors in international affairs, including cities, states within the federal system, corporations, and non-governmental actors. Through the seminar students will develop an understanding of the UN climate negotiation process and consider ways to better incorporate subnational actors into the international legal processes of climate mitigation and adaptation.
The seminar will be tasked by the Secretariat of the UNFCCC with undertaking research on the incorporation of subnational actors into climate negotiations. At the request of the UNFCCC, we will consider how subnational actors can be more directly engaged in key aspects of the UNFCCC process including the Global Stocktake, the Enhanced Transparency Framework, the Global Goal on Adaptation, and Loss and Damage negotiations. A whitepaper produced by the seminar will eventually feed into the UNFCCC’s experts process.
Throughout the semester students will learn the basic legal frameworks, political structures, and operating procedures of the UNFCCC. We will dive deep into key areas including the participation of subnational actors and contemporary debates around meeting and measuring national commitments to climate change. We will consider how subnational actors can advance these commitments and participate more actively in their implementation. We will draw on the expertise of co-instructor Maurico Rodas, who formerly served as mayor of Quito, Ecuador and now plays leadership roles in many subnational climate networks. We will be joined by guest speakers from the UNFCCC, national climate negotiation delegations, and city-level climate leaders from around the globe. While participating in COP in Sharm-el-Sheik, students will have the opportunity to directly observe climate negotiations, attend seminars and events on the side-lines of those negotiations, and meet with governmental and non-governmental officials with a variety of perspectives on climate negotiation.
Upon return to Philadelphia, each member of the seminar will complete an individual research paper of approximately 20 pages in length on an aspect of subnational participation in climate negotiations selected in consultation with the professors and researched in part while at COP. Collectively, these papers will feed into a white paper that the seminar will prepare for and present to the UNFCCC Secretariat at the conclusion of the course.
How to Apply
This class is open to 2L, 3L, and LLM students; there are no pre-requisites for enrolling in the seminar. The application deadline is Monday, August 23. In order to be considered for the seminar, students must follow the instructions provided via the online form circulated in the email announcement. Applicants must submit a short personal statement (of no more than 350 words) describing their reasons for wanting to take this class and their interest in the topic together with a resume and unofficial transcript. As noted previously, only students who are able to be a part of the November research trip should apply.
Additional details and application instructions here.
International and Comparative Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of international and comparative law, both substantively and procedurally; Perform legal analysis in the context of international and comparative law; Communicate effectively on topics related to international and comparative law; Demonstrate an understanding of the role of international and comparative law, and their interconnection with domestic law.
International Corporate and Trade Law
Perspectives on the Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate an understanding of how the law affects, and is affected by, the individual course topic; Perform legal analysis in the context of the individual course topic; Communicate effectively on the legal and other aspects of the individual course topic; Demonstrate the ability to use other disciplines to analyze legal issues relevant to the individual course topic, including economics, philosophy, and sociology, as appropriate.
Environmental Law Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of environmental law; Perform legal analysis in the context of environmental law; Communicate effectively on topics related to environmental law; Demonstrate an understanding of how environmental law affects other areas of law.
Public Interest Learning outcomes: Demonstrate a core understanding of the varied legal aspects of public interest law; Perform legal analysis in the context of public interest law; Communicate effectively on topics related to public interest law; Demonstrate an understanding of how public interest law is connected to and affected by a wide variety of legal and regulatory structures and doctrines.