Environmental experts will consider ways to ensure social justice while transitioning to lower carbon usage at a free symposium on Thursday, April 28 at the University of Kansas.
The symposium will bring together academics, professionals, students and the public to explore how local energy transitions can be leveraged to advance social justice. A panel will consider how to prioritize the needs and rights of traditionally disadvantaged groups, asking:
- What does social justice look like in the context of a low-carbon energy transition?
- What avenues exist for effectively incorporating social justice priorities into the development of distributed renewables and climate adaptation policy?
- What legal, political, or structural obstacles complicate social justice considerations?
Speakers include: Rob Verchick, chair in environmental law at Loyola University; Shalanda Baker, faculty advisor to environmental law program at William S. Richardson School of Law; Philip Berke, professor of land use and environmental planning and director of the Institute of Sustainable Coastal Communities at College Station at Texas A&M University; Jacqueline Patterson, director of the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program; Julian McQueen, director of education and outreach at Green For All; Tom Jacobs, environmental program director at Mid-America Regional Council; Althea Moses, environmental justice regional coordinator for Region 7 EPA; and Dorothy Barnett, executive director of the Climate + Energy Project.
This free event will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 28 at the University of Kansas Commons, Spooner Hall, 1340 Jayhawk Blvd., Lawrence KS. For more information and to register, visit www.carbonjusticecampus.com.
Photo: Patrick Emerson // CC BY
