On Thursday, Feb. 8, join the philosophy department's Center for Values and Social Policy听for a Center Talk presented by听Andrew Light, professor at George Mason University. The lecture is听titled "Beyond Bifurcated Climate Responsibilities: Why the Paris Agreement Matters and How We Must Defend It."
The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, is illuminated in green to celebrate the entry into force of the Paris Agreement, the most ambitious climate change agreement in history, on Nov. 4, 2016.
In December 2015, over 190 countries met in Paris and finally succeeded in creating a comprehensive and universal international agreement on climate change after 25 years of negotiations. Among its many virtues, the agreement finally moved beyond the strict bifurcation of responsibilities between developed and developing countries that had long hindered this process.
Nonetheless, some argue this doesn鈥檛 matter, as the cumulative climate commitments that parties brought to the table in Paris are ultimately too weak to achieve the agreements鈥� lofty aspirations. With the announcement of the intended withdraw of the United States,听the agreement now is undergoing an early and serious stress test: Is Paris worth defending?
Light's talk will review the core arguments for and against Paris听and look at what the future holds for global climate cooperation.
About the expert
Light is a university professor of philosophy, public policy听and atmospheric sciences at George Mason University听and Distinguished Senior Fellow in the Climate Program at the World Resources Institute, in Washington, D.C.
Who: Open to the public
What: Center Talk:听"Beyond Bifurcated Climate Responsibilities: Why the Paris Agreement Matters and How We Must Defend It."
When: Thursday, Feb. 8, 4:30鈥�5:30 p.m.
Where: Hellems Arts and Sciences, room 199
From 2013 to 2016, he served as senior advisor and India counselor to the U.S. Special Envoy on Climate Change听and staff climate advisor to Secretary of State John Kerry in the Office of Policy Planning in the U.S. Department of State. In this capacity, he served on the senior strategy team for the U.N. climate negotiations and director of the U.S.-India Joint Working Group for Combating Climate Change, among other duties.
In recognition of this work, Light was awarded the inaugural Public Philosophy Award听from the International Society for Environmental Ethics in June 2017, which has been renamed the Andrew Light Award; the inaugural Alain Locke Award for Public Philosophy听from the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy in March 2016;听and a Superior Honor Award听from the U.S. Department of State in July 2016听for his work creating and negotiating the Paris Agreement on climate change.
In his academic career, Light听is the author of over 100 articles and book chapters, primarily on the normative dimensions of climate change, restoration ecology听and urban sustainability听and has authored, co-authored听and edited 19 books, including Environmental Values (2008), Moral and Political Reasoning in Environmental Practice (2003), Environmental Pragmatism (1996), and the forthcoming Ethics in the Anthropocene.
