On Thin Ice: International Law and Environmental Protection in a Melting Arctic

On Thin Ice: International Law and Environmental Protection in a Melting Arctic
Co-Sponsored with NYU Environmental Law Journal

October 22, 2010
New York, NY

The United States is one of eight nations with territory above the Arctic Circle, a distinction that meant relatively little until the last decade.  But melting sea ice has thrust these previously unnavigable and commercially inaccessible waters into a series of legal, political, and environmental disputes, which are expected to intensify in the years ahead.  On October 22^nd, NYU’s Journal of International Law and Politics and Environmental Law Journal will host “On Thin Ice: International Law and Environmental Protection in a Melting Arctic.”  This multi-disciplinary conference will include leading scientists, legal scholars, and practitioners in order to explore the current and projected impacts on the natural environment, the legal framework, the commercial interests, and how to ensure sustainable development.  The Journal of International Law and Politics and the Environmental Law Journal will publish papers resulting from the conference.

Please RSVP by visiting nyulaw.imodules.com/rubinsymposium and clicking on Registration.

The keynote address will be given by Peter Taksøe-Jensen, former UN ASG for Legal Affairs and current Danish Ambassador to the U.S.  Confirmed panelists include Brian Van Pay of the U.S. State Department; Professor Ross Virginia, Director of the Dartmouth Institute of Arctic Studies; Professor Christopher Joyner of Georgetown Law; Professor Rebecca Bratspies of CUNY Law; Lisa Speer of the National Resources Defense Council; Professor David Caron of Boalt Hall; and Peter Oppenheimer of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.