Friday, November 2, 2018 – ELP Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Christina (lead negotiator on compliance and enforcement under the Paris Agreement for the Norwegian government) and Gaute Voigt-Hanssen (Senior Adviser, Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment) presented at the Hawaii State Bar Association 2018 Bar Convention and Annual Meeting during the Environment, Energy, & Resources Seminar.
Their presentation, An Inside Look at Critical Environmental Negotiations: Climate Change and the Paris Agreement; Species Protection and the Convention on Biological Diversity; Ocean Conservation and the Law of the Sea Convention, delved into the intricacies of negotiating international agreements for States-Parties. Associate Dean Denise Antolini chaired the event. 

Dr. Voigt’s presentation focused on the upcoming negotiations under the Paris Agreement at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 24th Conference of the Parties in Katowice, Poland in December. She articulated that the Parties must agree on a compliance mechanism under the Convention.

Mr. Voigt-Hanssen discussed the upcoming negotiations under the Convention on Biological Diversity in November in Egypt. He also discussed the current debate regarding Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.