International Workshop: “Small States and Arctic Sustainability”

Please click here if you are unable to view this page.

International Workshop: "Small States and Arctic Sustainability"

Our planet is facing social-ecological disruption by human activities at a scale with no parallels in human history. The impact of climate change is most visible in the Arctic, which are warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet (IPCC Special Report 2019). In recent years, the melting Arctic become rich grounds for the development of international law and governance in areas such as new shipping routes, fishing grounds, tourism and green energy transition. While every single move of great powers, e.g., the United States and China, is being scrutinized, it is noted that five out of eight Arctic Council Members – Finland, Norway, Iceland, Greenland (through Denmark) and Sweden are so-called small states.

“Small states, by their very nature, share specific concerns and common interests, such as environmental and economic vulnerabilities.” In today’s hyperconnected world, ecosystems, societies, and economies are linked like never before. The present, and the future, is characterised by the unprecedented movement of people, goods and products and the transfer of capital and information. Small states are therefore not necessarily only at the receiving end of international law and policy making process. In contrast, small states have been actively shaping contemporary international law and governance. The latest example is Vanuatu’s initiative to request an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on climate change. What happens in the Arctic do not stay in the Arctic. Vice versa, lessons from other parts of the world, such as Singapore, the founder and the Chair of the Forum of Small States (FOSS), may also be valuable to help achieve sustainability in the Arctic Region. Small states within and beyond the Arctic should and are able to play significant roles in building a peaceful and sustainable future for the Arctic through law and governance at national, regional and international level.

PROGRAMME

Time (SGT)	Programme
8:45am	Registration
9:00am - 10:15am	Welcome Address Professor Lee Pey Woan Dean, SMU Yong Pung How School of Law Opening Roundtable: "Small States and Rules-Based International Order" Panellists: Ambassador Juha Markkanen Finnish Ambassador to Singapore Dr Kaewkamol Pitakdumrongkit Head of Centre for Multilateralism, Nanyang Technological University Dr Nilufer Oral Director of Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore Chair: Professor Liu Nengye Associate Professor, SMU Yong Pung How School of Law
10:15am - 10:30am	Break
10:30am - 12:30pm	Panel 1 Chair: Professor Pasha Hsieh Professor of Law, SMU Yong Pung How School of Law "Climate Change, Energy Policy and Just Transition in Iceland" Professor Rachael Lorna Johnstone University of Akureyri, Iceland "Establishing Interconnectedness between the Arctic and Small Island States through Climate Litigation" Dr Marlene Payva Almonte PhD Fellow, University of Lapland, Finland "Dialectics on the Cusp: the Arctic, Sustainability and Norwegian International Legal Engagements" Professor Vito de Lucia Director of Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea, UiT Arctic University of Norway "Infrastructure for pursuing SDG’s in the Arctic: what happens when geopolitics enters the picture" Professor Timo Koivurova Arctic Centre, University of Lapland, Finland
12:30pm - 1:30pm	Lunch Break
1:30pm - 3:30pm	Panel 2 Chair: Professor David Leary Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney "Small States, Insights from Antarctica" Professor David Leary Professor of Law, University of Technology Sydney "Navigating Tradition and Sustainability: International Legal Challenges for Small States in the Case of Faroese Whaling" Professor Tomohiko Kobayashi, Professor of Law, Otaru University of Commerce, Japan "Norway's Strategic Engagement in the Arctic for Sustainable Shipping: recent domestic and international developments" Konstantinos Deligiannis-Virvos, PhD Fellow, Norwegian Centre for the Law of the Sea, UiT Arctic University of Norway "Culture vulnerability to Climate Change: Applying Intergenerational Equity to Arctic Insularity" Sara Fusco PhD Candidate, University of Lapland, Finland
3:30pm - 4:00pm	Break
4:00pm - 5:00pm	Closing High Level Panel: "Small States and Arctic Futures" Panellists: Professor Timo Koivurova Professor Rachael Lorna Johnstone Professor Vito de Lucia Professor Nengye Liu Chair: Professor Michelle Lim Associate Professor, SMU Yong Pung How School of Law

Limited seats available


FEE Complimentary


FORMAT In-person only


DATE & TIME 20 November 2024, Wednesday 9:00am to 5:00pm (Singapore time)


VENUE Meeting Room 5.01 Singapore Management University Yong Pung How School of Law 55 Armenian Street Singapore 179943

To subscribe/unsubscribe from the Centre for Commercial Law in Asia's mailing list, please click here.

International Workshop: “Small States and Arctic Sustainability”

International Workshop: "Small States and Arctic Sustainability"

PROGRAMME

FEE

FORMAT

DATE & TIME

VENUE