Confronting Climate Change: Possibilities and Opportunities

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On October 22, 2015, the Center for Energy Studies (CES) at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Consulate General of France in Houston hosted the conference “Confronting Climate Change: Policies and Opportunities.” The event was included as part of FACTS (French Ameri-Can Climate TalkS), a series of public conferences in 12 cities across the United States and Canada involving academics, government officials, NGOs, political figures, journalists, and entrepreneurs. The timing and subject matter were designed to contribute to civic dialogue as the world prepared for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in December 2015. This summary begins by sharing the perspectives of the conference panelists, which do not necessarily reflect the views of the researchers at the CES or representatives of the French Consulate. The purpose of this document is to capture the discourse at the conference. Afterwards, insights by CES researchers regarding the state of climate change policy are offered. The conference began with introductory remarks by Regina M. Buono, Baker Botts Fellow in Energy and Environmental Regulatory Affairs at the Baker Institute’s CES, and Sujiro Seam, Consul General of France in Houston. Buono and Seam stressed the importance of the topic and the need to facilitate dialogue and communication between experts and country leaders.

This material may be quoted or reproduced without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the author and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The views expressed herein are those of the individual author(s), and do not necessarily represent the views of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.