University of Toronto Faculty of Law

Law in a Changing World: The Climate Crisis

Thursday, March 2, 2023 (All day) to Friday, March 3, 2023 (All day)
Location: Jackman Law Building, 78 Queen's Park (in-person)

How is climate change affecting the law, and the role of law in society? What do we do about it?

Climate change is not only for experts to grapple with, but for all members of society, at all levels. The University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s conference on March 2 & 3 takes this proposition seriously. It aims to broaden the legal and policy discussions and explore how climate change is changing what we do – and what we need to do – as lawyers and legal educators.

The here-and-now of climate change has implications for virtually all areas of law, as well as legal institutions and lawyers. It requires nothing less than rethinking who, what and how law regulates. From the role of different levels of government, to insurance and the assessment of risk, to differential impacts within and among countries, law and lawyers will be pivotal in facilitating our efforts to mitigate and respond to the real-world impact of climate change.

What challenges does the reality of climate change present to the law?

Day 1: Thursday, March 2, 2023

Keynote and Q&A (12:30-1:45pm) - Kim Stanley Robinson 

Our keynote speaker will be science fiction writer, Kim Stanley Robinson, who will speak to his award-winning book, The Ministry for the Future (2020). The book crosses over from the world of science fiction to contemporary policy discussions of climate change and catastrophe, gesturing towards the possibility of moving from our current dystopia to a better future. It underscores the premise that underlies our conference, i.e. that climate change affects everyone at all levels of society, and that an effective response to climate change will similarly require efforts at all levels, and from all areas of expertise.

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