As we take stock of the devastating fires, droughts and floods affecting countries across the globe, we are also witnessing growing frustration with government-led policies addressing the climate crisis. How can we develop a political ecology that reconnects social justice with ecological concerns? And how can we meaningfully involve those who fear they may be most affected by the energy transition in shaping and implementing the policies that will impact them?
The event will explore how ecological and democratic issues intersect, highlighting different perspectives on how best to foster collective action on environmental challenges.
This event is organized by the Columbia Maison Française, Alliance Program, and Villa Albertine, and is featured in its Albertine Conversations series which supports French-American exchanges on urgent environmental challenges, including the collapse of ecosystems, forms of urban adaptation and resilience, and innovative legal and political approaches to these issues.
Participants
Marine Braud is a consultant, co-founder of Alameda Sustainability, and a former environmental policy advisor to the French Prime Minister and the office of the President. She is the author of Qui aurait pu prédire? Leçons de dix ans de politiques écologiques depuis l’accord de Paris.
Sheila Foster is a tenured professor of climate at the Climate School and an affiliated faculty member at Columbia Law School. Foster is a leading scholar of climate justice, environmental law, and collaborative urban governance. She is the author of Co‑Cities: Innovative Transitions toward Just and Self‑Sustaining Communities (MIT Press), an award‑winning book that has shaped global thinking on community‑centered urban transitions, and From the Ground Up: Environmental Racism and the Rise of the Environmental Justice Movement (NYU Press), a foundational text in environmental justice scholarship. She serves as Editor‑in‑Chief of the Journal of Climate Resilience and Climate Justice.
Divine Siam is a second-year master’s student at Columbia University’s Climate School, focusing on climate science, environmental justice, and community-centered research. At Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, she studies river responses to environmental change with Dr. Austin Chadwick and collaborates with Dr. Kristina Douglass on ethical data infrastructure with Indigenous and local communities in southwest Madagascar. She also contributes to climate justice activist Wawa Gatheru’s forthcoming book and has conducted research on coastal salt marshes in Massachusetts and human-environment interactions in Cambodia. Her work emphasizes integrating scientific and local knowledge to advance equitable, community-led climate solutions.
Joëlle Zask is a professor of philosophy at Aix-Marseille University. She is one of France’s leading thinkers on participatory democracy and pragmatism. Her work examines the notion of shared culture in relation to topics such as ecology, agriculture, education, politics, and the arts. She is the author of Participer: Essais sur les formes démocratiques de la participation (Le bord de l’eau Editions, 2011); La Démocratie aux champs (La Découverte, 2016); Quand la forêt brûle (Premier Parallèle, 2019), Zoocities (Premier Parallèle, 2020), and Écologie et démocratie (Premier Parallèle, 2022), among other major works.
Event Details & Important Information
This event is free and open to the public, but please note that registration does not guarantee a seat. We intentionally overbook our events, and seating is first come, first served. We recommend arriving early.
Important: Campus Access Requirements
Columbia’s campus is currently open only to Columbia-affiliated guests (with a valid CUID).
If you do not have a Columbia ID, you will need a QR code to enter campus.
Columbia Public Safety will only issue one QR code per email address. If two or more names are registered on eventbrite using the same e-mail address, only one of them will receive a unique QR code. Please use a different personal e-mail address for each guest.
To receive a QR code:
- You must register on Eventbrite at least 48 hours in advance
- We will submit your name and email to Public Safety
- You will receive an email from [email protected] with your unique QR code
Please check your spam/junk folder if you don’t see the email, and bring a valid photo ID with you to present at campus entry points.
