Towards Resilient Environmental State in Times of Global Polycrisis

“Building a sustainable ecological state in the era of global polycrisis”: scientists of the University held a round table with the participation of international experts

On February 19, the Department of Environmental Law, in cooperation with the Department of Constitutional Law of Ukraine, the Department of European Union Law, and the Department of Legal Theory of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, held a roundtable discussion “Building a Sustainable Environmental State in the Era of Global Polycrisis”, which was attended by more than 50 scholars, graduate students, and students representing Ukrainian and foreign law schools.

Among the participants of the roundtable was Enrico Albanesi, Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Genoa, researcher and co-leader of the IALS Legal Reform Project at the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (IALS), University of London, who personally visited our University.

The event was organized and moderated by PhD in Law, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Environmental Law Yevhenii Suetnov and PhD in Law, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Environmental Law Yevheniia Kopytsia.

Anatolii Hetman, Doctor of Law, Professor, Rector of the University, delivered a welcoming speech, emphasizing the relevance of the event’s topic not only for our country but also for the entire civilized world. According to him, despite the existence of doctrinal developments in this area, the concept of an ecological state is insufficiently developed and sometimes controversial, which is manifested in the divergence of scientific views on its content, essence, main features and elements, not to mention the ways of its practical implementation.

The rector also emphasized the importance of international cooperation of the University with the best representatives of European science and practice and expressed his gratitude to Professor Albanesi for his desire and great courage to personally come to Kharkiv to share his experience and scientific achievements within the walls of our Alma Mater.

It is worth noting that cooperation with Professor Albanesi began in May last year, when, guided by a sincere desire to support the Ukrainian academic and student community, he held a series of online lectures on the impact of European Union law and the European Convention on Human Rights on national constitutional law and participated in a number of scientific and practical events organized by the University. Most recently, with the direct participation of the professor, a joint research project was launched between the University of Genoa and the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University on the protection of national minorities.

During the roundtable, leading national and international scientists discussed the most pressing theoretical and practical issues related to the development of a sustainable ecological state in the current crisis conditions, namely

1. Enrico Albanesi – made a presentation on The Protection of the Environment “in the Interest of Future Generations” under the 2022 Amendment of the Italian Constitution;
2. Vasyl Kostytskyi – Doctor of Law, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, President of the International Environmental Academy – with the report Ecological State: Signs of “Modernity” of the Modern State;
3. Jana Karras – Doctor of Law, Research Fellow at the Institute for Climate Protection, Energy and Mobility (Berlin), referendum officer at the German Federal Environment Agency – Charting the Green Route: Ukraine’s Regulatory Roadmap for EU-Driver Recovery;
4. Ievheniia Kopytsia – PhD in Law, Associate Professor of Environmental Law at Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University, MSCA4Ukraine Fellow at the Law School of the University of Genoa – Shaping a Resilient Environmental Law in the Face of Crisis. Case Study: Ukraine Green Transition Challenges (Shaping a Resilient Environmental Law in the Face of Crisis. Case Study: Ukraine Green Transition Challenges);
5. Olga Pavlova – PhD in Law, Legal Advisor at AgileEngine, Head of EU and US – Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) Corporate Net-Zero Standard in context of Ecological state Development;
6. Olesia Trahniuk – PhD in Law, Associate Professor, Professor of the Department of European Union Law of the Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University – Some Theoretical Approaches to the Definition of the Principle of Environmental Rule of Law in the Context of Development of the Ecological State Concept;
7. Olena Dashkovska – Doctor of Law, Professor, Professor of the Department of Legal Theory at Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University – Ecological State Doctrine: Formation and Development;
8. Hryhorii Berchenko – PhD in Law, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of the Department of Constitutional Law of Ukraine – The Constitutional Bloc Doctrine and the Case of the Environmental Charter in France.

The participants of the roundtable noted the high level of organization of the event, which is reflected in the importance of the issues discussed and the English-language format of the event, emphasized the friendly, welcoming and creative atmosphere and thanked the organizers for the opportunity to join a lively and fruitful scientific discussion.

The event was held as part of the Erasmus + UniCities Project “Unveiling the transformative potential of Ukrainian universities for the development of climate-neutral and sustainable cities”.