Laws & Regulations

The Fifth International Conference on Sustainable Development and Planning in the UK builds upon a series that started in 2003 in Skiathos (Greece) and evolved to another three conferences in Bologna (2005), the Algarve (2007) and Cyprus (2009). The conference addresses the subject of regional development in an integrated way as well as in accordance with the principles of sustainability.

The First International Conference on Food and the Environment in the UK will focus on a variety of issues affecting food production and distribution including those related to natural and anthropogenic causes. The conference will emphasise the effects of modern food production processes and how they can affect human health.

Sponsored by the Environmental Law Institute, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and Capitol Hill Ocean Week, this seminar in DC features international ocean management experts exploring the relevance of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to national security and economic well-being.

Environmental Law Institute hosts a debate in DC of EPA's proposed new Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards for power plants.

Some time this century the Republic of the Marshall Islands is likely to be completely submerged. They asked Columbia Law School to look at the legal issues this raises. If a country is under water, is it still a state? Does it still have a seat at the UN? What happens to its fishing rights and mineral rights? What is the citizenship of its displaced people? Does it have legal recourse? The result is this international conference of legal scholars on legal issues faced by island nations threatened by sea level rise.

This seminar, hosted by Environmental Law Institute in Washington, DC, follows Nuts and Bolts of Marcellus Shale Drilling and Fracking, on April 14, the first of a two-part series addressing fast-moving developments in the natural gas drilling arena, focusing on Marcellus Shale. The panel will discuss current legislative and policy developments occurring at federal and state levels, potential changes to the regulatory framework, and the overall implications for balancing energy needs with environmental protection in the future.

The 17th annual conference of the International Sustainable Development Research Society will be hosted by the Earth Institute, Columbia University, in partnership with the United Nations Division of Sustainable Development and the Asian Development Bank Institute. The conference will explore the fundamental question of how global society's aspiration to continued growth can be harmonized with the existing limits imposed by Earth’s resources.