Dr. Thomas Simon - Climate Change and Disappearing States - Cambio Climático y Estados en Desaparición
The talk will be in English with simultáneos translation into Spanish. / Charla en inglés con traducción simultánea al español.
Para descripción en español favor de bajar:
Description:
Dr. Thomas Simon will give the lecture “Disappearing States: Ecological Canaries in the Coalmines of the Seas?” on Monday, December 8th, at 11:00am in the Monteverde Institute auditorium.
Dr. Thomas Simon is professor of International Law at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Chinese and American Studies. He has also acted as Professor of International Studies, Philosophy, and Legal Studies at various institutions. In addition to his work as a professor, Dr. Simon is the author of six books and countless articles on the subjects of peace, social justice, discrimination, minorities´ rights, genocide, and torture. The Monteverde Institute is proud to host him for this talk on political and social impacts of climate change.
ABSTRACT
The disappearing nation of the Maldives and its sister island states (Kiribati and Tuvalu) pose a challenge to philosophy, policy, and law. Many of those who take a holistic ecological perspective see these, much like the canaries in the coalmines, as early warnings signs of the cataclysmic effects of climate change. The current international system is based on the creation of states with fixed populations and defined territories. International law has no mechanisms for dealing with the extinction of states. Drastic problems call for drastic solutions such as recognizing states without territories. Policy makers should not treat nuclear war as gang violence. Similarly, they should not approach climate change as if it were like pollution.
Yet, a piecemeal, environmental approach does provide a solution to disappearing states. Amending the Law of the Sea Convention to freeze baselines at current levels would have an enormous impact since it would assure these states as well as those with threatened coastal communities with rights to the living and nonliving resources within their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ). Kiribati has nearly the same size EEZ as Japan and nearly four times the EEZ size of China, which, in turn, has about the same size EEZ as the Maldives and Tuvalu. International refugee law would not have to find a new classification for the environmentally displaced citizens of these islands. With funds from selling the rights to these resources, these citizens would have sufficient funds to relocate almost anywhere.
The canary in the coalmine does not symbolize a dire warning of ecological catastrophe but rather a potent warning of how fear conjured by over-dramatizing challenges turns us into meek canaries.
A big thank you to Cabañas los Pinos in Monteverde hosting Dr. Thomas Simon.
Español:
El Dr. Thomas Simon dará la charla “Estados en Desaparición: Indicadores del Porvenir de los Mares?” el lunes 8 de diciembre a las 11:00am en el auditorio del Instituto Monteverde.
El Dr. Thomas Simon es profesor de derecho internacional en el Centro para Estudios Chinos y Americanos de la Universidad de Johns Hopkins. También ha sido profesor de estudios internacionales, filosofía y estudios legales en varias instituciones. Además de su trabajo como profesor, el Dr. Simon es el autor de seis libros y numerosos artículos en los temas de paz, justicia social, discriminación, derechos de minorías y tortura. Al Instituto Monteverde le da orgullo ser anfitrión para su charla sobre impactos políticos y sociales del cambio climático.
Esta charla presenta el caso de naciones y estados (que se presumen tener poblaciones fijas y territorios definidos, por ejemplo las Maldivas) en desaparición debido a niveles marinos crecientes provocados por el cambio climático. Leyes internacionales no tienen mecanismos para lidiar con la desaparición de estados. El Dr. Simon propone una solución que definiría linderos que garantizan los derechos a recursos para poblaciones destinadas a volverse refugiados climáticos.
n agradecimiento muy grande a Cabañas los Pinos por hospedar al Dr. Thomas Simon.