The story of how the Paris Climate Agreement was achieved is a remarkable one with lessons for all who are concerned with the challenge of global governance. When President Obama took office expectations were high for a new comprehensive climate agreement to be negotiated at Copenhagen in 2009. The coinciding global financial collapse dashed those hopes, leaving many insiders and experts to conclude that the international climate talks had been permanently derailed. Yet somehow over the course of the next seven years, a new overarching agreement was reached that redefined forever how global climate responsibilities would be understood and discussed.
No one knows the story of how this was achieved more intimately than former Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd D. Stern. From his spirited and underappreciated defense of the Copenhagen Accord alongside Danish chief strategist Bo Lidegaard, to his careful and inspiring cultivation of a world-changing partnership with his Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua, Stern’s story is the story of the Paris Agreement. This event will allow the community to hear the story firsthand from its author and to engage with Special Envoy Stern in conversation about lessons learned and possibilities for progress on climate change going forward.
Open to members of the Yale Community. For non-YLS attendees, registration is required.
Sponsoring Organization(s)
Law, Ethics, and Animals Program