Baker Institute, Consulate General of France in Houston to highlight climate change issues

David Ruth
david@rice.edu
713-348-6327

Jeff Falk
jfalk@rice.edu
713-348-6775

Baker Institute, Consulate General of France in Houston to highlight climate change issues Oct. 22

HOUSTON – (Oct. 19, 2015) – As the world prepares for COP21, the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in December, leading government and private sector experts will discuss pressing climate change issues at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Oct. 22.

Hosted by the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies and the Consulate General of France in Houston, the conference is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

The event is part of French Ameri-Can Climate TalkS (FACTS), a series of public conferences across the United States and Canada initiated by the Scientific Service of the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., to bring together renowned scientists, civil society representatives, nongovernmental organizations leaders, political figures, journalists and entrepreneurs.

Who: Steve Corneli, senior vice president for policy and strategy at NRG Energy, will give the luncheon keynote.

Panelists include Frédéric Bontems, director for development policies and global public goods at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development; Megan Ceronsky, senior policy adviser in the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy; and Margo Oge, former director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality. For a full list of panelists and the agenda, see http://bakerinstitute.org/events/1747.

What: A conference titled “Confronting Climate Change: Policies and Opportunities.”

When: Thursday, Oct. 22, 8 a.m.-1 p.m.

Where: Rice University, Baker Hall, Doré Commons, 6100 Main St.

At the conference, two expert panels will share various views on policy options for confronting climate change. The first panel will focus on the role of regulation in preparing for climate change. A second panel will consider how industry is positioning itself to address climate change going forward, with a particular focus on the energy sector.

For this conference, the Baker Institute and the Consulate General of France in Houston are partnering with the French-American Chamber of Commerce of Houston and are supported by JLL, Haynes and Boone and EDF Inc.

Members of the news media who want to attend should RSVP to Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

The public must register to attend this event at http://bakerinstitute.org/events/1747. A live webcast will be available at the registration page.

For a map of Rice University’s campus with parking information, go to www.rice.edu/maps. Media are advised to park in the Central Campus Garage.

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Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top 10 university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.