On March 15, legal scholars and practitioners, along with engineers, geologists, and policy makers, came together at the Law School for the two-day Carbon Capture & Storage Global Legal Symposium. CCS, as it is known, aims to combat global climate change by trapping carbon dioxide emissions from places such as refineries and factories, and, then sequestering it underground. Each step of the process–capture, transportation, and storage–raises legal and regulatory issues, and these were the subject of the symposium. The gathering drew participants from around the world, and served as a forum for the International Energy Agency to unveil a model CCS legal and regulatory framework.
The principal organizers of the symposium were Richard Stewart and Richard Macrory. Stewart is a University Professor; John Edward Sexton Professor of Law; chair and faculty director of the Hauser Global Law School Program; and director of the Frank J. Guarini Center on Environmental Law and Land Use Law. Macrory, a professor of environmental law at University College London Faculty of Laws (UCL), is also currently a senior global research fellow at the Hauser Global Law School. The Guarini Center and UCL jointly sponsored the symposium, along with the Global CCS Institute of Australia.
The Law School's Michael Orey sat down with Stewart and Macrory after the symposium to get an overview of CCS and the legal and policy issues it presents.
Posted March 23, 2010