Sustainable Development Goals and Universities

This month, Professor Chalifour joined a panel featuring Jeffrey D. Sachs, exploring the role of Universities in advancing the global Sustainable Development Goals.

Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned professor of economics, leader in sustainable development, senior UN advisor, bestselling author, and syndicated columnist whose monthly newspaper columns appear in more than 100 countries. He is the co-recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership. He has twice been named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders. He was called by the New York Times, “probably the most important economist in the world,” and by Time magazine “the world’s best known economist.” A recent survey by The Economistranked Professor Sachs as among the world’s three most influential living economists of the past decade.

Professor Sachs serves as the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University.  He is University Professor at Columbia University, the university’s highest academic rank.  During 2002 to 2016 he served as the Director of the Earth Institute.  Sachs is Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on the Sustainable Development Goals, and previously advised UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on both the Sustainable Development Goals and Millennium Development Goals and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg, Austria.

Sachs is currently Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network under the auspices of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and a Commissioner of the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Development. He is Chair and Founder of SDG USA, a non-governmental initiative to promote the Sustainable Development Goal concepts in the United States. Sachs is also co-founder and Chief Strategist of Millennium Promise Alliance, and was director of the Millennium Villages Project (2005-2015).

Sachs has authored and edited numerous books, including three New York Timesbestsellers: The End of Poverty (2005), Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008), and The Price of Civilization (2011).  His recent books include: To Move the World: JFK’s Quest for Peace (2013), The Age of Sustainable Development (2015) and Building the New American Economy: Smart, Fair & Sustainable (2017).

Climate Law Seminar

Professor Nathalie Chalifour taught the first upper year Climate Law Seminar at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law this January, as part of the intensive winter session. Using a multidisciplinary approach characteristic of Chalifour’s teaching, students grappled with legal questions in their broader scientific, economic and political context. Taught in a bilingual format, the seminar featured numerous experts to engage the students in understanding the legal and policy framework for responding to climate change. The course was split between the international context, including an in-depth examination of the Paris Agreement, and Canada’s legal response to climate change at all levels of government.   

FLSQ Conference 2018

Angela Lee and Professor Heather McLeod-Kilmurray will be presenting at the Feminist Legal Studies Queen's Conference 2018, on the theme of (Re)Production: Inequalities of Gender, Racialization, and Class. The conference will be held at Queen's University on March 2-3, 2018. 

Their presentation, pertaining to the Food Justice case study, is entitled "The Milkmaid’s Tale: Veganism, Feminism, and Dystopian Food Futures".

Talking Radical Radio Podcast

Listen to Scott Neigh interview Nathalie Chalifour and Angela Lee on the Environmental Justice project (and in particular, the climate justice and food justice case studies) for the Talking Radical Radio podcast here: http://rabble.ca/podcasts/shows/talking-radical-radio/2018/02/environmental-justice-and-law-canada

Formalizing the Right to a Healthy Environment in Canada

UPDATE: A follow-up and video from the event is available HERE, and a personal account of the event by LLM student Danielle Gallant is available on our blog. 

---

The David Suzuki Foundation, the Ecojustice Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Ottawa, the University of Ottawa Centre for Environmental Law and Global Sustainability, and the University of Ottawa Human Rights Education and Research Centre invite you to Canada’s first symposium on Environmental Rights, to be held February 15, 2018. This one-day event at the University of Ottawa will bring together leading academics, advocates and policy-makers to profile research in this area and related policy developments.

This event is free, but space is limited and participants must register for admission in advance here: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/formalizing-the-right-to-a-healthy-environment-in-canada-registration-42095493755. Lunch will be provided.

Why environmental rights?

Throughout Canada, a conversation is building about integrating a human rights approach in environmental protection. There is also growing awareness about environmental protection gaps and related adverse effects on human health in the absence of legal recognition of the right to a healthy environment in Canada. Most countries already recognize environmental rights either in their constitutions or in statute, so there is a wealth of information from other countries about how to operationalize a human rights approach to environmental protection and the practical effects of recognizing environmental rights in law. Canadian researchers are also recognized leaders in the field. Recently, a House of Commons standing committee recommended amendments to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) to recognize environmental rights. This event aims to profile evidence and experience that will be relevant to Canadian decision-makers.

---

La Fondation David Suzuki, la Clinique de droit de l’environnement Écojustice à l’Université d’Ottawa, le Centre du droit de l’environnement et de la durabilité mondiale de l’Université d’Ottawa et le Centre de recherche et d’enseignement sur les droits de la personne de l’Université d’Ottawa vous invitent au premier symposium sur les droits environnementaux au Canada, qui aura lieu le 15 février 2018. Cet événement d’un jour à l’Université d’Ottawa rassemblera des universitaires renommés, des militants et des décideurs politiques, qui dresseront le profil de la recherche dans ce domaine, de même que des politiques associées à élaborer.

Cet événement est gratuit, mais le nombre de places est limité et les participants doivent s’inscrire à l’avance ici: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/formalizing-the-right-to-a-healthy-environment-in-canada-registration-42095493755. Le dîner sera fourni.

Pourquoi parler de droits environnementaux?

Partout au Canada, on envisage de plus en plus d’intégrer une approche axée sur les droits de la personne à la protection de l’environnement. On s’intéresse également davantage aux lacunes relatives à la protection de l’environnement et aux effets néfastes qu’elles ont sur la santé humaine en l’absence de reconnaissance juridique du droit à un environnement sain au Canada. La plupart des pays reconnaissent déjà des droits environnementaux, que ce soit par leur constitution ou par leurs lois. Les autres pays représentent donc une mine d’information sur la façon d’associer une approche axée sur les droits de la personne à la protection de l’environnement et sur les effets d’une reconnaissance juridique des droits environnementaux. Les chercheurs canadiens sont également des chefs de file reconnus dans ce domaine. Récemment, un comité permanent de la Chambre des communes a recommandé des modifications à la Loi canadienne sur la protection de l’environnement (1999) (LCPE) afin d’y inclure les droits environnementaux. Cet événement mettra l’accent sur des expériences et des faits pertinents pour les décideurs canadiens.

Environmental Justice Research Fellowship 2017-2018

This year’s recipient of the Environmental Justice Research Fellowship is Danielle Gallant, a Master of Laws candidate at the University of Ottawa. Danielle will be working on the climate justice case study. She is currently completing the LL.M. with Concentration in Global Sustainability and Environmental Law, having graduated with high honours from the Civil Law and the International Development and Globalization programs. Additionally, she is a member of the Quebec Bar and completed her articling at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which confirmed her passion for humanitarian issues. She also explored environmental law and governance at the provincial, national and international levels during her multidisciplinary studies in Ottawa as well as during an exchange at the VU University Amsterdam. It is with these complementary interests in mind that Danielle will be focusing her research on the effectiveness of the human rights framework in attaining climate justice, under the supervision of the Faculty of Law’s Professor Nathalie Chalifour. Danielle also contributes to both the Environmental Law and the Human Rights Clinics of the University of Ottawa, honing her legal knowledge and skills in order to apply them within these fascinating fields at the end of her graduate studies. 

Cette année, la récipiendaire de la Bourse de recherche en justice environnementale est Danielle Gallant, candidate à la Maîtrise en droit à l’Université d’Ottawa. Danielle travaillera sur le cas d’étude de la justice climatique. Elle complète présentement le LL.M. avec concentration en Droit de l’environnement et du développement durable, étant diplômée avec hautes distinctions des programmes de Droit civil et de Développement international et mondialisation. De plus, elle est membre du Barreau du Québec et a complété son stage au Tribunal pénal international pour l’ex-Yougoslavie, confirmant sa passion pour les questions humanitaires. Elle a aussi exploré le droit et la gouvernance environnementaux aux niveaux provincial, national et international au cours de ses études multidisciplinaires à Ottawa ainsi que lors d’un échange à l’Université VU Amsterdam. C’est avec ces intérêts complémentaires à l'esprit que Danielle axera sa recherche sur l'efficacité du système des droits humains pour atteindre la justice climatique, sous la supervision de la professeure Nathalie Chalifour de la Faculté de droit. Elle contribue également aux Cliniques de droit de l’environnement et sur les droits de la personne de l’Université d’Ottawa, et peaufine ses connaissances et ses habiletés juridiques afin de les appliquer dans le cadre de ces domaines fascinants à la fin de ses études supérieures.

Public Keynote: A Food Policy for Canada

Conference on Resource Extraction and the Human Rights of Women and Girls

On October 26th, Professor Nathalie Chalifour will present her research on integrating gender into Canadian environmental law and policy, with an emphasis on climate policy, at the Conference on Resource Extraction and the Human Rights of Women and Girls, October 26th-28th, 2017 at the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law.

La protection de l’environnement par le droit : qui agit?

Professeure Nathalie Chalifour a présenté son ouvrage sur le fédéralisme du climat à l’Université Laval le 19 octobre 2017, lors du colloque « La protection de l’environnement par le droit : qui agit? ».

Colloque international Sécurité alimentaire et nutrition à l’heure des changements climatiques

Professor Sophie Thériault recently participated in the Colloque international Sécurité alimentaire et nutrition à l’heure des changements climatiques. 

Du 24 au 27 septembre, le Gouvernement du Québec, en collaboration avec l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture (FAO), organise le Colloque international sur la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition à l’heure des changements climatiques. Près de 225 experts et représentants d’organisations internationales, de la société civile, du secteur privé et de la jeunesse sont attendus au Centre des congrès de Québec.

Her presentation, on September 26, in a panel on the topic of "Augmenter la résilience du système alimentaire dans un Nord en changement", was titled: “La sécurité alimentaire des Inuit et les changements climatiques: repenser la gouvernance du territoire et de la biodiversité dans l’optique de la souveraineté alimentaire”.