CCSI and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), under the guidance of Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on the SDGs, and Laurent Fabius, President of the Constitutional Council of the French Republic, will host a one-day conference to present and discuss the blueprint for a Global Pact for the Environment. The conference will build on the successful June 2017 launch of the Global Pact in Paris, which brought together prominent leaders to discuss the draft pact and its role in moving the environment and development agendas forward. 

Coinciding with the 72nd Session of the UN General Assembly, this Conference will offer a high-level opportunity to explore the complex legal and political challenges of the Global Pact in light of existing agreements and soft law principles on the environment, and the current global political scene.

The conference’s sessions will explore the scope and impact of the proposed Global Pact, including high-level panels on:

– the normative and legal case for the Global Pact on the Environment, the main legal challenges and opportunities presented by the Pact, and the ways in which the Pact can shape State and corporate responsibilities and behavior;
– the foundation for implementation and enforcement of the Global Pact established by existing jurisprudence on international environmental law, as well as the legal mechanisms proposed by the Pact and their application; and
– the role of diverse stakeholders in moving the environmental governance agenda forward, and emerging opportunities for collaboration and shared value creation among companies, governments, state institutions, and civil society.

Confirmed speakers include:

– Yann Aguila, Chair of the Environmental Law Commission, Club des Juristes
– Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, Professor of Law, University of Geneva
– Maxine Burkett, Professor of Law, William S. Richardson School of Law; Global Fellow, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
– Laurent Fabius, President of the Conseil Constitutionnel de la Republique Francaise; Former President of COP21
– Michael Gerrard, Director, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia University
– Honorable Justice Swatanter Kumar, President of the National Green Tribunal, India
– Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson, The Global Environment Facility
– Peter Lehner, Senior Attorney, Sustainable Food and Farming, Earth Justice
– David W. Rivkin, Partner, Debevoise and Plimpton LLP; Former President of the International Bar Association
– Carlos Salle, Director of Energy Policies and Climate Change, Iberdrola