Program

Friday October 12, 2018

“A Moment of Hope - How States Can Lead in the Absence of Federal Leadership”
Rob Klee, Commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Energy
and Environmental Protection

Session 1: Case Studies in Climate Displacement

• “Unpacking Myths around Climate Change and Human Mobility: Beyond ‘Climate Refugees.’” Erica Bower, formerly UNHCR Climate Specialist
• “When Natural and Humanitarian Disasters Converge: A Case Study on the Rohingya Refugee Influx in Bangladesh.” Mayesha Alam, Yale Department of Political Science
• “Drought and Displacement in the Middle East.” Alyssa Parpia, Yale School of Public Health

  Moderator: Ann Kurth, Dean and Linda Koch Lorimer Professor, Yale University School of Nursing

Session 2:  Keynote Address

• “Migration with Dignity.” His Excellency Anote Tong, Former President of Kiribati,
  Followed by a Q and A with Audience

Session 3:  Planning for Climate Displacement

• “Climate Projections: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” Michael Kruk, ERT, Inc. at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information
• “Climate Displacement in Development Financing:  The Groundswell Project.”  Kanta Kumari Rigaud, World Bank

  Moderator:  Mushfiq Mobarak Chair, South Asian Studies Council; Professor of Economics

Session 4:  Brief Remarks

• “How does Climate Migration Fit into the Paris Accord Process?” Ayman Cherkaoui, Executive Director UNGC Morocco, Coordinator at the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, and Special Advisor of the Presidency for COP22/23

Session 5:  Local Responses to Displacement

• “Responding to the Puerto Rican Diaspora after Hurricane Maria.” Meredith Niess and others from the Fair Haven Community Clinic Project, and Marietta Vazquez, Yale School of Medicine
• “Recovery and Resilience after Hurricane Katrina.”  Elizabeth Fussell, Brown University

  Moderator: Kaveh Khoshnood, Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies at the Yale School of Public Health; Yale Council on Middle East Studies

Climate Induced Displacement - Day 2

Session 1:  Opening Remarks:

• “Taking Stock of Research on Climate Change, Migration and the Law: Achievements and Remaining Issues.”  Prof. Benoit Mayer, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Session 2:  Knowledge Gaps in Law and Policy Frameworks that Climate Science Can Fill

• “The Climate Resilience Toolkit.”  Edward Gardiner, NOAA-Affiliate
• “Climate Science Informing Displaced Communities.”  Marjorie McGuirk, CASE Consultants
• “Addressing Climate-Induced Displacements; Systems Thinking.” Robert Brammer, American Bar Association

  Moderator:  Dane Ratliff, Center for International Sustainable Development Law

Session 3:  Legal Challenges and Creative Solutions

• “Whither Statehood?  The Legal Status of Submerged States.” Christina Hioureas, Counsel and Chair of the United Nations Practice Group at Foley Hoag LLP
• “International Law Governance of Internally Displaced Persons.” Alexandra Harrington, Fulbright Canada Research Chair in Global Governance
• “When “Internal Displacement” is not so Internal:  Examining the Legal Rights of Remote Sub-National Communities.” Miriam Cullen, Copenhagen University.

Workshop Sessions

• A gap analysis of climate science needed to support Climate-Induced Displacement law and policy;
• Synthesis of the Legal issues  from previous panels and question and answer sessions;
• Roundtable on the Practical Aspects of Relocation with a special focus on Aboriginal, Indigenous and First nations communities.