All "Beyond Copenhagen" Conference events will be free, April 21-23

 All events at the “Beyond Copenhagen” International Conference on Climate Change, to be held on the Chapman campus April 21-23, will be open free of charge to the campus community and the public.  Advance registration is, however, required, and space will be limited, so early registration is recommended: you can register online at https://www.chapman.edu/beyondcopenhagen

The Schmid College of Science, in conjunction with the School of Law, is organizing “Beyond Copenhagen,” a three-day conference event at Chapman University. External organizations and several other academic schools and centers within Chapman — Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Argyros School of Business and Economics: the Anderson Center for Economic Research, Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics, the Economic Science Institute, and Wilkinson College of Humanities and Social Sciences — are participating and providing sponsorships. The conference will focus on exploring the many potential challenges and opportunities in climate change, including issues of the data and models, mitigation and adaptation and discuss what policy changes are needed to make viable and sustainable changes. The conference will include keynote speakers, panel discussions, and presentations by experts in the fields of science, public policy, business, and law.

The conference will open on Wednesday night, April 21, with a special night of film at Marion Knott Studios.  MacGillivray Freeman Films will screen excerpts from their new production, “Into the Arctic,” plus a full screening of their classic Oscar-nominated documentary “The Living Sea.”

Thursday, April 22 will feature concurrent sessions on business, science and policy.  That evening, there will be an event that is being called a “discussion from a variety of viewpoints relating to society and climate issues.”  That’s a long and fairly boring name for what will probably turn out to be a lively debate on climate change, what causes it, if it exists, etc.  The erudite panelists will include Joel Kotkin, Chapman’s Presidential Fellow in Urban Futures; statistician Dr. Ed Wegman; Arctic specialist Tom Campion and scientist Berrien Moore III. 

On Friday, April 23, the events will include discussions on the legal aspects of environmental policy, panel discussions on energy and the economy, and a closing reception.

Speakers and panelists confirmed for the event include Dr. Ghassem Asrar, head of the World Climate Research Programme in Geneva, Switzerland; Dr. Tomas Diaz de la Rubia, chief research and development officer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy; Dr. Randall R. Friedl, chief scientist, Earth Science and Technology, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA/Caltech; Prof. Victor Flatt, Taft Professor of Environmental Law, School of Law, and director, Center for Law, Environment, Adaptation and Resources, University of North Carolina; Dr. Fotis C. Kafatos, Honorary President of the European Research Council and chair of immunogenics at Imperial College, London; Prof. Amy Sinden, associate professor of law, Beasley School of Law, Temple University; and Dr. Michael Wara, research fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and assistant professor of law, School of Law, Stanford University.