Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements Conducts Research Workshop in Venice, Italy

On May 21, 2010, The Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements convened the International Research Workshop on Institutions for Global Governance—a research workshop at which leading scholars examined the institutional context of international climate change policy. The workshop was hosted by and jointly organized with the International Center for Climate Governance, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM), and the Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change—all research organizations based in Italy and focusing on environmental policy and sustainable development. The event was held at FEEM's new offices on the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Italy.

Participants in the International Research Workshop on Institutions for Global Governance included fifteen leading scholars in international relations, economics, and law, from the United States and Europe.  Among the questions addressed at the workshop were: What are the appropriate and most effective roles for existing or new organizations in negotiating and implementing a new climate agreement or set of agreements? What can research on the institutional context of public policy from the disciplines of economics, political science, international relations, and legal scholarship tell us about how to shape institutions for climate policy? How does one overcome—or, perhaps, leverage—institutional path-dependence evident in the current negotiations?

A detailed agenda and list of participants may be found here.

The Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements prepared an Issue Brief, entitled, "Options for the Institutional Venue for International Climate Negotiations" in May 2010, partly as preparation for the workshop. The Harvard Project also released a policy brief in November 2010, based on the workshop discussions, entitled, “Institutions for International Climate Governance.”