On Monday 16 December 2024, Julia Dehm and Zoe Nay shared the work and learnings of the ‘Climate Conscious Lawyers’ project at a roundtable on Climate Law Education hosted by the Law Schools of the University of Melbourne and the University of Cambridge.
Overview
Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing society and the law, both domestic and international, has an important role to play in helping society transition away from fossil fuels and ensuring this is done so in the most equitable way possible. It is therefore critically important that legal education equip law students with the knowledge and tools to adequately address climate related issues as they move into professional practice.
This roundtable will discuss opportunities for integration of climate change into existing education frameworks, by discussing questions around whether climate change should be mainstreamed into all law classes and if so, how, best practice for developing stand-alone climate law subjects and how to manage the law-policy-science interface in teaching, including teaching climate science to law students and the integration of climate law into climate science and policy subjects outside of law schools.
Programme (times in AEDT)
8.00-8.05: Welcome, acknowledgement of country and intro to Deans – Dr. Ellycia Harrould-Kolieb, University of Melbourne
8.05-8.15: Opening remarks – Prof. Michelle Foster, Dean of Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne
8.15-8.25: Opening remarks – Prof. Louise Gullifer, Head of the Board of the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge
8.25-8.30: Setting the scene and intro first panel – Prof. Harro van Asselt, University of Cambridge
Panel 1: Experiences in mainstreaming climate change in legal education
8.30-8.35: Dr. Julia Dehm, La Trobe University
8.35-8.40: Dr. Kim Bouwer, Durham University
8.40-8.45: Lea Milanini, University of Cambridge
8.45-9.00: Questions
Elly transition to second panel
Panel 2: Challenges in mainstreaming climate change in legal education and beyond
9.00-9.05: Zoe Nay, University of Melbourne
9.05-9.10: Dr. Kate Dooley, University of Melbourne
9.10-9.15: Dr. Lovleen Bhullar, University of Cambridge
9.15-9.30: Questions
9.30: Close