The Renewable Energy Transition: Building a Bright Future | Register here
At the 2024 Wallace Stegner Symposium held March 14-15—convened by the University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law’s Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment—experts from a wide range of disciplines will explore the challenges of the global transition to carbon-neutral energy, along with related sustainability, environmental, and human health concerns.
Now in its 29th year, the annual Stegner Symposium brings together scholars, policymakers, scientists and community leaders to address some of the most pressing and complex environmental issues we face.
Transitioning to renewable energy is essential to avoiding the worst effects of the accelerating climate crisis—and, at the same time, it is one of the most daunting projects of our era. The process of building carbon-neutral energy systems will require enormous infrastructure changes and unprecedented coordination across public and private entities, and it will have far-reaching implications for our society and the environment.
This year’s Stegner Symposium will approach the transition from a range of angles. Experts from government, science, law, business, and community and environmental advocacy will address a variety of practical questions, including facility siting, transmission, critical mineral development, and permitting reform. They will also explore concerns about environmental justice, public participation and transparency, and implementing meaningful strategies to avoid or minimize impacts to communities and ecological resources.
The symposium will feature talks by Alexandra Klass, who is the James G. Degnan Professor of Law at the University of Michigan Law School; Eric Beightel, executive director of the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council; and Lincoln Davies, dean of the Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law. Panels will include notable participants such as Amy Coyle, deputy general counsel at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and Steven Feldgus, principal deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“The Wallace Stegner Center Symposium has a long tradition of convening experts from across disciplines to explore the most complex environmental issues,” said Robert Keiter, director of the Stegner Center and the Wallace Stegner Professor of Law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law. “We’re honored to host such a wide range of renowned speakers at this year’s symposium. Bringing these experts into dialogue together is exactly what’s needed in order to develop solutions that are sustainable and just, and it’s what makes the Stegner Symposium an impactful forum for change.”
More information about the event, speakers, and registration is available here.