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Sustainability Law Study Trip: UCC Welcomes Erasmus University Rotterdam Students
UCC welcomed a class of Law students from Erasmus University Rotterdam for a UNIC CityLabs study trip on Sustainability and Law topics, on June 6-8 2024.
The students visited as part of their module, "Perspectives on Sustainability", part of the LL.M. Publiekrecht voor Bedrijf en Burger (Public Law for Companies and Citizens). The visit took place under the framework of the UNIC university alliance and the A.A. van Beek Fund.
After arriving in the morning on June 6, the students had the whole afternoon dedicated to attending presentations on sustainability matters from both academics and experts from practice. After the welcoming words from Prof. Owen McIntyre, Co-Director of the Centre for Law and the Environment at UCC, two presentations on theoretical issues of sustainability followed. The first one was given on rights of nature by Mr Julian Suarez Bohorquez and the second discussed the relationship between sustainable development goals and international law by Ms Niamh Guiry.
These two presentations were followed by others showing how to translate theoretical research into more engaged research. Specifically, Dr Marie Aronsson-Storrier discussed her ongoing research funded by UNIC on urban climate adaptation in Cork and Malmö while Mr Anthony O’Reily, Mr Tim Twomey and Mr Seán O’Donovan discussed the pathways to decarbonisation undertaken by Cork County Council in its approach to climate action.
Lastly, a presentation on the experience of UCC students on their Clinical Environmental Law Research with a specific focus on Airborne Ammonia Pollution from Agriculture followed. This way, the EUR students could further reflect on their own experience with the law clinic for the Municipality of Rotterdam within the module, "Perspectives on Sustainability".
On June 7, students had the opportunity to attend a “sustainability showcase” for the whole day. The “sustainability showcase” aimed to collect all the research associated with sustainability that is carried out at UCC. Accordingly, students could listen to presentations from different fields of social sciences (e.g., economics, law, governance). At the very beginning of the conference, a topical presentation was held by Prof. McIntyre on “Values, Convergence and International Water Law”. In the afternoon, instead, relevant presentations were given within the session entitled “Social Sustainability, Law and Sustainable Consumption”.
Overall, the students were given many different perspectives on sustainability, both in research and practice, and went back to the Netherlands with fresh motivation and inspiration.