Symposium to explore ‘Environmental Justice in an Uncertain Federal Climate’

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The 2017 Journal of Law and International Affairs (JLIA) Symposium will examine the role of the U.S. government in domestic and international environmental regulations and address how municipalities, states, citizen groups, nonprofits, and other institutions can fill the void created by government inaction.

The symposium, “Environmental Justice in an Uncertain Federal Climate: Policy, Litigation, and Responses,” is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on April 14 in the Sutliff Auditorium of the Lewis Katz Building on Penn State’s University Park campus.

Academic, government, and private-sector experts will address energy and natural resource development, clean water access, and federalism questions pertaining to environmental regulation.

At the center of the discussion will be the complex process of balancing development, energy, and commerce with conservation, climate change mitigation, and issues of environmental justice. Topics of discussion will include changing energy needs (shale, oil, coal, and renewable energy sources); clean water access in light of the case of Flint, Michigan; and emerging tensions between the Trump administration and environmental administrative agencies. 

JLIA’s aim in this symposium is to showcase perspectives on the world’s environmental future as well as to encourage robust discussion about national and international decision-making in the environmental realm. 

The event is free and open to the public, though advance registration is required. Lunch will be provided.

The Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs is a digital, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal, jointly published by Penn State Law and the Penn State School of International Affairs. The journal promotes academic and public discourse at the intersection of law and international affairs, featuring contributions in the areas of public and private international law, international relations, comparative law and politics, geography, economics, history, and policy issues in the various sciences. It is available online and indexed by LEXIS and Westlaw.