The Tech Impact Forum presents:

Climate Change Risks and Opportunities: Sustainable Development in an Age of Crisis

Monday, October 4th at 5pm Eastern

 Free and open to all | Online via Zoom
Click here to RSVP

An Online Talk Featuring

Michael Burger, Executive Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School

Moderated by Tanya Srebotnjak, Director, Williams College Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives

This summer's storms and wildfires have made one simple fact abundantly clear: the climate crisis is fully upon us. The need to adapt to climate change, both by enacting a full-scale energy transition and increasing resilience to extreme events and other impacts, presents opportunities in the face of increasing risks. In this talk, Michael Burger, Executive Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School, will discuss the latest developments in climate science, the economic and investment implications of the energy transition, and what is happening on the ground in communities in the northeastern U.S., and nationwide, as governments and developers seek to site the renewable energy facilities needed to power a climate-safer future.  The talk with be moderated by Tanja Srebotnjak, the Director of the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives at Williams College. 

Michael Burger

As Executive Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Michael leads a dynamic team that is at the forefront of domestic and international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote climate change adaptation through pollution control, resource management, land use planning and green finance. Past and present projects involve collaborations with local and national environmental groups and government representatives, as well as international organizations such as the United Nations Environment Program, the United Nations Development Program, and the International Red Cross. Michael is a widely published scholar, a frequent speaker at conferences and symposiums, and a regular source for media outlets. He has taught at Columbia Law School, NYU Law School and Roger Williams School of Law, and has lead short courses on climate change and human rights in the Hague and Grand Cayman. He is also a co-founder and member of the Environmental Law Collaborative. Michael is Of Counsel at Sher Edling LLP, a boutique plaintiffs firm that represents states, cities, public agencies, and businesses in high-impact, high-value environmental cases.

Prior to joining the Sabin Center Michael was an associate professor at Roger Williams University School of Law, where he taught environmental law, administrative law, and law and literature, and was founder and director of the Environmental and Land Use Law Clinical Externship program. He previously taught in the Lawyering Program at New York University School of Law, and served as an attorney in the Environmental Law Division of New York City’s Office of the Corporation Counsel. Michael is a graduate of Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and an articles editor for the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law; and of Brown University, where he graduated magna cum laude and received the Ratcliffe Hicks Prize for highest standing in language and literature. He also holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Creative Writing program at NYU.

Tanja Srebotnjak

Tanja is the Director of the Zilkha Center for Environmental Initiatives at Williams College.  She has worked on sustainability since 2000 and in a variety of settings, including at the United Nations, the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental think tank, academia, and an independent K-12 school.  She holds a Masters in statistics from Dortmund Technical University and a PhD in environmental statistics and policy from the Yale School of the Environment.