Duke climate expertise spotlighted by State Department seminar series

Duke University experts will share insights about international climate policy with university students across the nation in a free virtual seminar series funded by the U.S. Department of State. The series is also open to the Duke community, including students, faculty, staff, and alumni.

The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and Duke University Energy Initiative designed the series for students and alumni of the U.S. Department of State's Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program, which supports American students of limited financial means to study or intern abroad.

The interdisciplinary series aims to enhance attendees' understanding of the climate crisis—including its social, political, and economic impacts—through a foreign policy lens. Featured speakers include Duke faculty as well as other scholars and professionals.

All university students and the Duke community are invited to register for the first seven webinars in the Gilman Climate Leaders Virtual Seminar Series: 

• Thursday, March 24, 12:30 – 2 p.m. ET: Welcome and Overview of Global Climate Agreements. Featuring a U.S. Department of State official, Brian Murray (Duke), Rob Jackson (Stanford), Jonathan Wiener (Duke), and Jennifer Haverkamp (University of Michigan).
   
• Thursday, March 31, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET: Life at the Intersections of Energy Insecurity, Gender Dynamics and Climate Change in Africa. Featuring Eric Ndayaho Mvukiyehe (Duke) and Victoria Plutshack (Duke).
   
• Thursday, April 7, 8 – 9:30 p.m. ET: The United States and China: Addressing Climate Change. Featuring Junjie Zhang (Tsinghua University, Duke Kunshan); Fan Dai (University of California, Berkeley); and moderator Jackson Ewing (Duke).
   
• Thursday, April 14, 8 – 9:30 p.m. ET: Supply Chain Scaling: Ecosystem Impacts of Transition Mineral Use. Featuring Steve Roady (Duke), Megan Cook (Duke, Ocean Exploration Trust), and Renee Grogan (Gro Sustainability).
   
• Thursday, April 21, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET: Political Implications of Climate Change in Latin America. Featuring Christine Folch (Duke), Gabriela Nagle Alverio (Duke), and Sarah Bermeo (Duke).
   
• Thursday, April 28, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET: International Finance for Clean Energy and Low-Carbon Development. Featuring Billy Pizer (Resources for the Future) and Jonathan Phillips (Duke).
   
• Thursday, May 5, 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. ET: Water, Justice and Rights: Conflict and Peacebuilding in a Changing Climate. Featuring Erika Weinthal (Duke).   
   

An eighth webinar will be available exclusively to current Gilman Scholars and alumni of that program, which has supported more than 33,000 students to study or intern abroad since 2001. Gilman Scholars who participate in the series will have the opportunity to apply for two fully funded, in-person seminars in Denmark and the United Kingdom.

"The Gilman Climate Leaders Virtual Seminar Series will leverage Duke's considerable expertise in interdisciplinary climate education, research, and engagement to inform and inspire university students across the country," said Brian Murray, PhD, interim director of the Nicholas Institute and Energy Initiative. "We're grateful to the U.S. State Department and the Institute of International Education for selecting Duke University to organize this endeavor." 

Learn more and register for the series.