As nations gather in Brazil for the 30th meeting of parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Explore Energy Seminar will host an illuminating conversation with Professor Maxine Burkett on the negotiations and forces that frame the issues on the table.

Why us, why now?  Explore Energy House is home to 85 residents from more than 20 countries.  The complex of negotiating bodies operating for 30 years has not arrested the climb in global pollution that is changing the chemistry of the atmosphere - and shaking the foundations of life support systems around the planet.  

The highest level negotiations all year are happening this week, so now is a good time to get a grip on what's happening and how it relates to the pursuits you may care about most.

After the Explore Energy Seminar, all are invited to continue the discussions over dinner with the abundant buffet in Ricker Hall. 

Professor Burkett is a Professor of Environmental Social Sciences at Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. Previously, she has served as a Senior Advisor to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, where her portfolio included climate-related migration, climate security, bilateral relationships with island nations, and Indigenous Peoples’ engagement. At the State Department she oversaw the formulation and implementation of U.S. policy on a broad range of international issues concerning the oceans, the Arctic, the Antarctic, and marine conservation in her role as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans, Fisheries, and Polar Affairs. 

From 2021-2023, Burkett was also a Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, where she advanced research on climate justice and public health.  Professor Burkett’s research examines the relationship between environmental change and inequity and its impact on frontline communities, both domestic and international. With a background in law and diplomacy, her areas of expertise include climate change (international, national, subnational law and policy), ocean and coastal law, climate-related migration, and climate change and human security.