The Global Energy & Environmental Law Podcast

The Logic and Controversies of Geoengineering

In this podcast hosted by Professor Myanna Dellinger, Dr. Stefan Schäfer presents his view on the pros and cons of the ever-controversial, but, in his view, also promising aspects of climate geoengineering. 

Dr. Stefan Schäfer is a political scientist interested in the history, philosophy and politics of science and technology. He leads a research group on climate engineering at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) in Potsdam and is Oxford Martin Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society, University of Oxford. He was a guest researcher at the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) from 2009-2012 and a fellow of the Robert Bosch Foundation’s Global Governance Futures program in 2014-2015. He is a contributing author to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, lead author of the European Transdisciplinary Assessment of Climate Engineering (EuTRACE) report, and chair of the Steering Committee of the Climate Engineering Conference (CEC) series.  He holds a doctorate in political science from Freie Universität Berlin. See his profile at http://www.iass-potsdam.de/en/people/stefan-schaefer.

Super Smart Energy Grids

In this podcast, Professor Myanna Dellinger interviews Dr. Armin Haas on how smart energy grids could solve some of the issues surrounding sustainable energy.

Armin Haas is a senior researcher in the Systemic Risk project of the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies, Potsdam (IASS), and leads the IASS activities within the EU Horizon 2020 projects Dolfins and Green-Win. Moreover, he leads the research line Integrated Risk Governance of the Global Climate Forum (GCF). At IASS his main research foci concern the economic, ecological and social sustainability of the financial system, and innovative contributions to the management and governance of systemic risks. At GCF, his research focuses on innovative approaches for the management of large-scale complex uncertainties. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. Before joining IASS, he worked as senior scientist at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and headed the research group Bayesian Risk Management. Together with colleagues from PIK and IIASA, he conceived the SuperSmart Grid.

Transitioning Energy

In this podcast, Myanna Dellinger interviews Craig Morris on his experience and views regarding how the German energy sector transitioned from fossil fuels to modern energy sources through grass-roots movements. The lessons learned have been adopted by other countries and maybe there is hope of using this model for an energy transition in more stubborn countries such as the United States.

Craig Morris (@PPchef) is currently a Senior Fellow at the IASS. Coauthored with Arne Jungjohann, his book Energy Democracy is the first history of Germany’s energy transition, the Energiewende. He has served as technical editor of IRENA’s REmap and of Greenpeace’s Energy (R)evolution. In 2008, he cofounded Berlin’s PV Magazine; in 2010, Renewables International. In 2012, he became lead author of EnergyTransition.de. In 2014, he won the International Association of Energy Economists’ prize for energy journalism.

Volkswagen Emission "Dieselgate" Scandal, Part II

This interview was recorded on June 9th, 2016. Professor Myanna Dellinger interviews Professor of Law Gregory C. Keating of the University of Southern California Gould School of Law about the issues surrounding the Volkswagen Diesel emission scandal.  Professor Keating joined the USC Law faculty in 1991. He teaches torts, legal ethics, and seminars in legal and political philosophy.  He takes an interest in the remedies aspect of the VW “dieselgate” scandal.

Professor Keating graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa from Amherst College, and earned an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the department of Politics at Princeton University, where he specialized in legal and political philosophy. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. After graduating from Harvard, he practiced law in Massachusetts for five years before joining the USC Law faculty. He has also been a visiting professor at Harvard Law School.

Update: After completing the two interviews on the VW “dieselgate” scandal, VW announced plans to launch 30 all-electric models to reposition itself as a leader in "green" transport.  Matthias Mueller, chief executive of VW, said huge investments would be needed as the firm moves beyond the "dieselgate" scandal.  Mr. Mueller hopes that by 2025, all-electric cars would account for about 20-25% of the German carmaker's annual sales.

This episode was recorded on the campus of Occidental College in Los Angeles.

Volkswagen Emission "Dieselgate" Scandal, Part I

In the first of a two part series,  Professor Dellinger  interviews Björn Fasterling regarding the scandal that has rocked  Volkswagen in what is now being called "Dieselgate".

Björn Fasterling is professor of law and the head of the law faculty at EDHEC Business School (Lille & Nice, France). His research and publications focus on ethics and compliance management in companies, and more recently on business and human rights. Prior to joining EDHEC, professor Fasterling practised as a German lawyer in the Berlin office of the Washington DC based law firm WilmerHale

Update: After completing the two interviews on the VW “dieselgate” scandal, VW  announced  plans to launch 30 all-electric models to reposition itself as a leader in "green" transport.  Matthias Mueller, chief executive of VW, said huge investments would be needed as the firm moves beyond the "dieselgate" scandal.  Mr. Mueller hopes that by 2025, all-electric cars would account for about 20-25% of the German carmaker's annual sales.

Volkswagen has also agreed  to take a series of steps costing about $10.2 billion to settle claims from its unprecedented diesel emissions cheating scandal in the U.S.

Nuclear Power in France and Beyond, Part III

To avoid the worst effects of climate change, it has become clear that fossil fuels must be left in the ground.

Nuclear power has resurfaced on the scene as a potentially viable energy source after the phase-out of fossil fuels. In this three part-series, you will be able to hear from experts in the field discuss both the pros and cons of nuclear energy and related future energy issues.

This is part three of the series. In this part, Professor Myanna Dellinger interviews Gabrielle Hecht. Gabrielle Hecht is professor of history at the University of Michigan. She is the author of two award-winning books: The Radiance of France: Nuclear Power and National Identity after World War II, first published by MIT Press in 1998 and reissued in 2009, and Being Nuclear: Africans and the Global Uranium Trade, which appeared in 2012.

 

Photo by Fernand Pio

Nuclear Power in France and Beyond, Part II

To avoid the worst effects of climate change, it has become clear that fossil fuels must be left in the ground. Nuclear power has resurfaced on the scene as a potentially viable energy source after the phase-out of fossil fuels. In this three part-series, you will be able to hear from experts in the field discuss both the pros and cons of nuclear energy and related future energy issues.

This is part two of the series. In this part, Professor Dellinger interview Dr Jonathan Cobb. Dr. Cobb is a Senior Communication Manager at the World Nuclear Association, based in London, United Kingdom. Dr Cobb began his career working in R&D for British Nuclear Fuels before focusing on climate change, sustainable development and energy policy. He joined the World Nuclear Association in 2005 as their advisor on climate change. He has represented the World Nuclear Association at the UNFCCC climate change meetings since 1999 and most recently attended COP 21 in Paris in 2015.

Thanks for listening!
Myanna Dellinger
Associate Professor of Law
University of South Dakota School of Law