2020 International Law Distinguished Visitor Gives Remote Lecture on Plastic Waste
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On March 9, 2020, Lewis & Clark’s International Law Program hosted Professor Elizabeth Kirk to give the International Distinguished Visitor’s Lecture. Professor Kirk is Global Chair of Global Governance and Ecological Justice at the University of Lincoln. Professor Kirk’s talk was on ‘The Case for a Plastics Treaty’.
Due to concerns regarding COVID-19, Professor Kirk presented remotely via zoom. Despite this, the session was very interactive and well attended. Over 30 people, including external members from the local community (including environmental NGOs) attended, demonstrating the high level of interest in the topic of her presentation. Professor Kirk outlined some of the existing limitations of international treaties to properly regulate plastic waste, and set out a proposal for a new treaty.
Professor Kirk was formerly Research Professor of International Environmental Law and co-director of the Centre for Marine Ecological Resilience and Geological Resources. From 2017 to 2019 Elizabeth was Chair of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law. Her research addresses the production of normativity in international environmental law and addresses complex, multi-faceted problems such as plastics pollution, energy efficiency and governance of the Arctic.
