March 22:
Professor Wil Burns, Santa Clara University School of Law
Biography |
Virtual Lecture |
Discussion List (Professor Burns will join the discussion list from March 22 - 26) |
Professor Wil Burns teaches at Santa Clara Law School. He holds a PhD in International Environmental Law, with a focus on climate change law and is the former Co-Chair of the International Environmental Law interest group of the American Society of International Law. He has taught at Williams College, Colby College, and the Monterey Institute of International Studies of Middlebury College.
Prior to becoming an academic, he served as Assistant Secretary of State for
Public Affairs for the State of Wisconsin and worked in the non-governmental
sector for twenty years, including as Executive Director of the Pacific Center
for International Studies, a think-tank that focused on implementation of
international wildlife treaty regimes, including the Convention on Biological
Diversity and International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. He has
published over 75 articles in law, science, and policy journals and has
co-edited four books. His current areas of research focus are: climate
geoengineering; international climate change litigation; adaptation strategies
to address climate change, with a focus on the potential role of microinsurance;
the effectiveness of international treaty regimes to conserve cetaceans (whales,
dolphins and porpoises); and how to effectively operationalize the precautionary
principle in international environmental treaty regimes.
The lecture, available in audio format, with a Powerpoint presentation is available here.