‘Liberalism’ is a term with many implications: it can be understood as a doctrine,and as the endorsement of either economic liberalism or political liberalism (i.e., the protection of individual rights against the threat of the intervention of the State or other institutions). Against this theoretical background, the present workshop aims at discussing the foundational premises of liberalism from the perspective of both the current debate on the global ecological crisis and the cluster of problems posed by the so-called ‘Age of the Anthropocene’.
In fact, especially if we look at the axis which both bridges and separates Eastern and Western political traditions, a number of urgent questions seem to emerge as far as protection of the environment and balancing individual freedom with environmental equilibrium are concerned. The retrospective and prospective thinking offered by moral and legal philosophy provides a useful tool in this enquiry. Moral and legal philosophy require developing an understanding of the basic components of principles, how and why these principles are formulated as part of unwritten moral codes or laws, and the continuing rationale for such principles. For instance, the principle of inter- generational equity is central to current debates on the impact of human behaviour on the climate, and has long standing roots in developing international environmental law, as well as specialist legal regimes relating to common heritage of mankind, and aboriginal title land and land-related rights. The principle of inter-generational equity essentially promotes the mindful usage and development of natural and cultural resources to ensure these are not passed onto future generations in a worse condition than which they were received. But why should future concerns trouble the minds of those with immediate wants and needs? Here, there is a tradition of liberal philosophy that offers a rationale corresponding to this question.
The Conference presentations will attempt to cover the following questions:
Salvatore Cuzzocrea, Rector of University of Messina (Italy)
Francesco Astone, Director of the Department of Law, University of Messina (Italy)
Duncan Lorimer, Associate Dean, West Virginia University, Eberly College of Arts and Sciences (USA)
Pasquale De Sena, President of Italian Society of International Law (SIDI) and University of Palermo (Italy)
Baldassare Pastore, President of the Italian Society of Philosophy of Law (SIFD) and University of Ferrara (Italy)
Paolo Farah
West Virginia University, Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics (USA) & gLAWcal (UK) – Member of the Board of the European Society of International Law (ESIL)
Alessio Lo Giudice
University of Messina, Department of Law (Italy)
Chair: Carmela Panella, University of Messina, Department of Law (Italy)
Chamundeeswari Kuppuswamy, Hertfordshire Law School (UnitedKingdom) – Convener of the ESIL Interest Group on International Environmental Law
Ferdinando Menga, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Department of Law, Caserta (Italy)
11:00 - 11:30 Coffee Break
Andrea Porciello, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Department of Law, Economics and Sociology (Italy)
Ozlem Ulgen, University of Nottingham (United Kingdom) – Chair of the ESIL Interest Group on International Legal Theory and Philosophy
13:00 - 15:00 Lunch Break
Chair: Grazia Vitale, University of Messina, Department of Law (Italy)
Louis J. Kotzé, North-West University (South Africa); University of Lincoln (UK); Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Potsdam (Germany)
Sam Adelman, University of Warwick (UK); Nelson Mandela University (South Africa); North-West University (South Africa)
Environmental Law and the Unsustainability of Sustainable Development: A Tale of Disenchantment and of Hope
Jolein Holtz, Leiden University, Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies (The Netherlands)
An (Onto)logical Solution to the Ecological Crises: Bringing Collective Rights to Bear on the Anthropocene
Moritz Caspar Vinken, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law Heidelberg (Germany)
Fighting Fire with Fire? The Principle of Sustainable Development: Rooting Anthropocentrism and Economic Liberalism firmly within Climate Change Governance
Chair: Ferdinando Menga, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Department of Law, Caserta (Italy)
Mihika Poddar, University of Oxford (United Kingdom) & West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences - NUJS (India)
Re-imagining Human Rights: Forging Legal Tools to Address the Climate Crisis
Guglielmo Ciaccio, University of Pisa (Italy)
Humanity and Nature. From a Relationship of Domination to a Relationship of Co-Existence and Co-Essentiality.
Francesca Di Pietro, University of Messina (Italy)
The Role of Individual in the Anthropocene
20:00 – Conference Dinner for Chairs and Speakers
Chair: Chamundeeswari Kuppuswamy, Hertfordshire Law School (UnitedKingdom)
Klaus Geiselhart, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute of Geography (Germany)
What is Libertarian Extremism?
Claudia Atzeni, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro (Italy)
Liberalism, Ecology, and the Process of European Integration.
Michael Ioannidis, European Central Bank and Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, Heidelberg (Germany)
Ecology and (Liberal) Monetary Policy
11:00 - 11:30 Coffee Break
Chair: Martin Svec, Masaryk University (Czech Republic) and gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (UK)
Michael Kalis, IKEM – Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (Germany); University of Greifswald – IFZO Interdisciplinary Research Centre for the Baltic Sea Region (Germany)
Intergenerational Equity or Intertemporal Rights? – Timing Climate Justice in Liberal Societies
Erika La Fauci, University of Messina (Italy)
Environmental Duties and Environmental Rights as Parts of a Unitary Concept: Present Generations Responsibility Towards Future Generations
Francesco D’Urso, – Università degli Studi Suor Orsola Benincasa – Napoli (Italy)
Ethics, Rights and Future Generations: the Difficult Combination of Environmental Protection and Individual Freedom.
13:00 - 15:00 Lunch Break
Chair: Andrea Porciello, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Department of Law, Economics and Sociology (Italy)
Martin Svec, Masaryk University (Czech Republic) and gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (UK)
Energy Intensive Companies and Interests of Current and Future Generations
Nazlicicek Semercioglu, Bocconi University (Italy); University of Istanbul (Turkey)
Rights of Nature: Multipliers or Reducers of Environmental Duties?
Louisa Ashley, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds Law School (UK)
Diana María Rodríguez-Herrera, Technological University of Pereira (Colombia)
Seed Saving and Seed Sharing: Countermapping a Liminal Legal Space to Support the Rights of Future Generations
16:45 - 17:15 Coffee Break
Chair: Marcella Di Stefano, University of Messina, Department of Law (Italy)
Michele Crisafulli, University of Messina (Italy)
Is There a Right to Develop as Well as a Right to Undevelop?
Daria Boklan, HSE University
Aleksandr Solntsev, RUDN University
Ecocentrism Vs Liberal Anthropocentrism: Will “Greening” of Human Rights and Free Trade under International Law contribute to environmental protection?
Giuseppe Poderati, Wuhan University, Research Institute of Environmental Law (China) and University of Palermo (Italy)
Giving Rights to Nature in the Current Anthropocene Era: the Panama Case.
Inês Lameiras Azevedo, European University Institute in Florence, Law Department (Italy)
Growth in the Anthropocene? The Circular Economy as a Possible Answer
Chair: Martin Svec, Masaryk University (Czech Republic) and gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (UK)
Giovanni Bombelli, Catholic University of Milan (Italy)
Liberalism, Ecology, Anthropocene: Some Methodological Distinctions
Song Tian, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), Center for Humanities, School of Humanities and Social Sciences (Shenzhen, China)
The Preconditions of a Civilization and the Self-restrain to Development in the Anthropocene
Jinfeng Zhou, China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation
About Liberalism and Ecology in the Anthropocene: Reflections from Eastern Civilization—A New Era of Civilization Must be Started
Jean-Yves Heurtebise, Fujen Catholic University, Taiwan; CEFC (French Research Center on Contemporary China), Taiwan
Illiberalism & Misanthropocene
11:00 - 11:30 Coffee Break
Chair: Daria Boklan, HSE University
Imad Antoine Ibrahim, Qatar University, Center for Law and Development (Doha, Qatar) and gLAWcal – Global Law Initiatives for Sustainable Development (UK)
Blockchain, Climate Damage, and Death: Policy Interventions to Reduce the Carbon Emissions, Mortality, and Net-Zero Implications of Non-Fungible Tokens and Bitcoin
Qingxiu Bu, University of Sussex (United Kingdom)
Towards an ESG-Driven Standard in Global Biodiversity Governance: Is Corporate Mandatory Due Diligence a cure in Supply Chains?
Md. Abdul Alim, University of Rajshahi Department of Law (Bangladesh)
Legal Aspects of Recycling Responsibilities for E-waste Especially Photovoltaic Waste
Chair: Chamundeeswari Kuppuswamy, Hertfordshire Law School (United Kingdom)
Bryan Druzin, Chinese University of Hong Kong
A World Unravelling: Can Multilateral Environmental Governance be sustained in the Anthropocene?
Seyed Hossein Mirjafari, Islamic Azad University of Hamadan (Iran); Samira Rezaei Gilaneh, Parand Islamic Azad University (Iran)
A Study of the Relationship between Neoliberalism and the Second Generation of Human Rights
Paolo Farah
West Virginia University, Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics (USA) & gLAWcal (UK) – Member of the Board of the European Society of International Law (ESIL)
Alessio Lo Giudice
University of Messina, Department of Law (Italy)
Paolo Farah
West Virginia University, Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics (USA) & gLAWcal (UK) – Member of the Board of the European Society of International Law (ESIL)
Alessio Lo Giudice
University of Messina, Department of Law (Italy)
The conference organizers have publication plans for the presented papers. The precise nature and format of publication will be discussed in more detail during the conference, however, the organizers preliminary vision is to publish an edited book with an international publisher or a special section or special issue of a Journal.
Chamu Kuppuswamy (University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom), Martin Svec (Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic), Ozlem Ulgen (University of Nottingham, United Kingdom), Carmela Panella (University of Messina, Italy) Daria Boklan (HSE University)
The European Society of International Law (ESIL) Interest Group on International Environmental Law, University of Messina, Department of Law (Italy), West Virginia University, Rockefeller School of Policy and Politics and the WVU Eberly College Interdisciplinary Research Collaborative on Global Challenges and Local Response Initiatives (USA) have jointly organized an interdisciplinary International Conference on “Liberalism and Ecology in the Anthropocene ” to be held at the University of Messina, Italy 30 June –2 July 2022. This event is also supported by the ESIL Interest Group on International Legal Theory and Philosophy, the Italian Society of Philosophy of Law (SIFD) and the Italian Society of International Law (SIDI).
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