Denver Law Associate Professor Annecoos Wiersema Writes About New UN Website: InforMEA

This summer, the United Nations launched a website with important implications for the future of international environmental law. InforMEA, the United Nations Portal on Multilateral Environmental Agreements brings together information relating to 17 multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) from 12 Secretariats hosted by three UN organizations and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). It is also open to nongovernmental observers involved in MEA information and data management. The portal will contain decisions, resolutions, and recommendations from conferences and meetings of the parties (COPs and MOPs), calendars, news and events, and certain national contacts. It will also harmonize information from across the MEAs, so that information is more easily accessible and usable. Elsewhere, I have written about the significance of COP and MOP activity. This portal will bring this activity together in one place, in easily accessible format.

Why is this move so significant? It has the potential to affect three areas of current concern to international environmental lawyers: sectoral fragmentation, the relationship between international law and domestic law, and accountability.

First, the portal might help us manage the sectoral fragmentation we see in international law, particularly in international environmental law. Many commentators have worried that connections among treaties that have substantial overlap are weak or completely lacking. This can lead to, at best, unnecessary duplication and, at worst, one subject matter treaty undermining the goals of another treaty that deals with a different subject matter. Worries about the effects of climate change mitigation efforts on biodiversity are a good example of this. This portal offers the potential for those interested to find avenues for coordination and linkages as they see what all the MEAs are working on.

Second, information that is more accessible is also more useful to national authorities. As international environmental law is increasingly connected to domestic law and implementation, this accessibility will be key. Sustainability requires recognition of local context and localized activities, as well as some international coordination of information and sharing of experience. The role of international environmental law as a clearinghouse of information is greatly enhanced by this portal.

Third, the amount of activity undertaken by the COPs and MOPs of MEAS, as well as various technical bodies, has created concern about accountability. NYU’s Global Administrative Law Project is an example of one response to this concern. This portal can enhance informal accountability because it will now be much easier to find out what COPs, MOPs, and various technical bodies are doing. The participation of nongovernmental observers is important for this, but the portal’s openness to the world at large is also key here.

Interestingly, a search on the portal under the subject category “Issues common to MEA’s” yielded no results under treaties or decisions! But maybe this portal will start to change that. How much this portal can do will depend ultimately both on how much information it has and how committed various stakeholders are to using it. But it offers real promise. International environmental lawyers, watch this space: http://informea.org/.

Annecoos Wiersema
Associate Professor

"Towards Sustainable Companies: Identifying New Avenues" Conference in Oslo, Norway, Features Strong Denver Law Contingent

Denver Law Professor Celia Taylor, Adjunct Professor Anita Halvorssen, and Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy LLM Graduate Diego Parravicini will chair panels at an upcoming conference at University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway, on August 29-30, 2011.

"Towards Sustainable Companies: Identifying New Avenues" is an international conference bringing together researchers from all over the world to discuss these important issues. How can we find new and fruitful avenues to make companies and thereby our economies sustainable?

“Business as usual is arguably unsustainable," the three DU-affiliated individuals said. "We urgently need to alter the direction of our businesses towards a balance between achieving profit and contributing to social development within the non-negotiable ecological boundaries of our planet. Climate change is the case in point for the Sustainable Companies project. The project is dedicated to the development and refinement of efficient tools to realize the significant potential within companies to make independent, creative and active contributions to mitigate climate change."

The panels that the three will chair are:

• "Case Studies on Human Rights and Environmental Law," Dr. Halvorssen
• "Corporate Governance, Shareholder Primacy, and Fiduciary Duties," Professor Taylor
• "Corporate Social Responsibility, Codes, Accounting and Reporting," Mr. Parravicini

The Sustainable Companies Project at the University of Oslo Faculty of Law invites scholars from different branches of academia, practitioners and decision-makers from business and government to participate in a high-level discussion of these questions, in a multi-jurisdictional and cross-disciplinary context.

Professor Celia Taylor, who teaches about "Securities Regulation," "Business Law," and "Corporations and Corporate Governance," Adjunct Professor Anita Halvorssen, who teaches "Sustainable Development" and "Trade and Global Climate Change Law and Policy," and Diego Parravicini, a 2009 LLM graduate and now an attorney with the Buenos Aires-based firm of Beccar Varela, are members of the Sustainable Companies Project hosting the conference.

Individuals interested in registering for the conference should click here.

Denver Law JD and LLM Graduate Alyson Meyer Gould Begins as Associate Attorney With Holsinger Law, a Boutique Natural Resources Firm in Denver

Alyson Meyer Gould, a 2010 JD Denver Law graduate and a 2011 Denver Law Environmental and Natural Resources Law LLM graduate, has joined the Holsinger Law firm as an associate in Denver.

Holsinger Law is a boutique natural resources law firm that specializes in lands, wildlife, and water law.

Ms. Gould studied biology at Bucknell University before coming to Denver Law. She distinguished herself as a top student while at Denver Law, earning the Outstanding LLM Student of the Year in 2011 for achieving the highest overall grades in the program. She also was recognized for the highest grades in Hazardous Waste Law and International Environmental Law.

Denver Law Student Robert N. Miller II Wins Academic Scholarship From the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators

Second year Denver Law student Robert N. Miller II has been awarded an academic scholarship by the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN).

AIPN is an independent not-for-profit professional membership association that supports international energy negotiators around the world and enhances their effectiveness and professionalism in the international energy community. It is composed of more than 3,300 members in more than 80 countries, representing numerous international oil and gas companies, host governments, law firms and academic institutions.

Mr. Miller is currently working in the oil and gas industry while attending law school. In a letter to the AIPN scholarship committee, Mr. Miller said, "I understand the field of international petroleum negotiation is extremely important to global stability. I am hopeful that my hard work, and determination, paired with the support of the AIPN, will assist me in becoming a successful international petroleum negotiator."

Justin R. Pidot, Former Environmental Appellate Litigator at the U.S. Department of Justice, Joins Denver Law Faculty in August

Justin R. Pidot, former attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment & Natural Resources Division, will join the Denver Law faculty as an Assistant Professor in August. He will teach Environmental Law as well as Property Law.

Professor Pidot, who most recently served with the Appellate Section of the Environment & Natural Resources Division, is a graduate of the Stanford Law School where he served as editor-in-chief of the Stanford Environmental Law Journal. His undergraduate degree is from Wesleyan University.

Before joining the Department of Justice, Professor Pidot clerked for Judge Judith W. Rogers, of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He also completed a fellowship at the Georgetown Environmental Law & Policy Institute.

Don C. Smith, Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy Program said, "Justin Pidot was an appellate litigator at the Department of Justice, where he presented argument in more than a dozen federal appellate cases and acted as the staff attorney on two cases heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. He will be a great addition to what is already one of the best environmental and natural resources faculties in the U.S."

Public Utilities Regulation Intensive Course Includes Influential Lineup of Colorado Utilities Sector Leaders

Denver Law's one-week intensive short course, Public Utilities Regulation, which concluded last week, included some of the utilities sector's leading figures including the president of a major investor owned utility and a member of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission.

The course provided students an exceptional chance to learn about recent innovations in the policy and economics of utility regulation while simultaneously providing the opportunity to listen to the sector's leaders talk about the challenges and opportunities they face.

Taught by Adjunct Professors Dr. Catherine Keske, Professor at Colorado State University, and Matt Futch, Senior Policy Manager and head of the Colorado Governor's Energy Office Utilities Program, Public Utilities Regulation was unique in introducing students to the philosophies and business practices of a wide range of industry leaders. Among the leaders who were part of the course were:

• Ken Anderson, President of Tri-State, a wholesale electric power supplier owned by the 44 electric cooperatives that it serves
• Matt Baker, Member of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission
• David Eves, President of Public Service Company of Colorado, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy
• Peter Fox-Penner, author of Smart Power and an internationally recognized leader in energy and the relationship of utility policy and economics
• Alice Maddon, Wirth Chair in Sustainable Development, School of Public Affairs, University of Colorado Denver
• Allan Schurr, Vice President Strategy and Development, Global Energy and Utilities for IBM
• Max Tyler, State Representative and member of the Colorado General Assembly

Dr. Keske, one of the adjunct professors, said, "We were fortunate to bring together wonderful resources for our students. Our guest speakers shared both perspective and details about the present and future dynamics of the energy industry. Pooling the resources of DU Law, Colorado State University, and the Colorado Governor's Energy Office also proved to be a tremendous success. However, above all else, we were fortunate to have a group of engaged and intelligent students. I had a ball teaching this class!"

Don C. Smith, Director of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Program, said, "There are few industries facing as many challenges as well as opportunities as the public utilities sector. These challenges and opportunities must take account of environmental, economic, and public policy factors. No where is this clearer than in the electricity generation and distribution business. This course provided students a unique, and indeed enormously valuable look at all of these factors.

"Hearing the wide range of guest speakers was particularly valuable to the students. In fact, the speakers, when considered together, probably represented the finest gathering of their type in an individual law school course anywhere in the country. This is exactly the type of learning experience that Denver Law is committed to bringing to our students."

Jan Laitos, John A. Carver Jr. Professor of Law at Denver Law, to be Featured Speaker at Buenos Aires Mining Seminar in August

Jan Laitos, John A. Carver Jr. Professor of Law at Denver Law, will be the featured speaker next month at a prestigious seminar in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The event, "Current Trends in the Regulation on Cyanide and Open Pit Mining," is being sponsored by one of the leading Latin American law firms Marval O'Farrell & Mairal.

Professor Laitos will speak about the U.S. and international experience associated with regulations on the use of cyanide as well as regulations on open pit mining. Also speaking at the seminar will be Luis E. Lucero, Francisco A. Macias, and Leonardo G. Rodriguez, all members of the firm.

Mr. Rodriguez is a 2008 LLM graduate of Denver Law's renown Environmental and Natural Resources Law & Policy Graduate Program. He was recognized as the top student in his 2008 graduating class, an honor given to the student with the highest grade point average.