FIU 2nd Annual Environment Forum:

Science and Public Choice

The Environmental Finance and Risk Management Program (EFRM) of Florida International University’s world-renowned Institute of Environment will be hosting a two-day forum at the main campus of FIU in Miami, FL on March 9-10th 2023 at the FIU College of Law – Courtroom – Rafael Diaz Balart Hall 1000. The theme of the forum is Science and Public Choice. 

Program 

March 9th, 2023: Rafael Diaz Balart Hall 1000, FIU College of Law

8:30AM to 9:00 AM   Registration and Breakfast


9:00AM to 9:15 AM   Welcome Remarks

Prof. Mario Loyola, FIU Institute of Environment, FIU College of Law
Dean Antony Page, FIU College of Law


9:15 AM to 10:15 AM   Financial Engineering and Environmental Data Analytics

Prof. Mike Sukop, FIU Dept. of Earth and Environment
Dan Krekelberg, Policy Director, The Climate Registry      
Prof. Enrique Villamor, FIU Dept. of Mathematics
Moderator: Prof. Pablo Olivares, Toronto Metropolitan Univ. Dept. of Mathematics


10:25 AM to 11:45 AM   Climate at the United Nations: Science, Policy, and Diplomacy

Prof. Tiffany Troxler, FIU Dept. of Earth & Environment
Prof. Hugh Willoughby, FIU Dept. of Earth & Environment
Dr. Henri Schneider, CEO, Swiss Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises
Prof. Matthew Burgess, University of Colorado Boulder Dept. of Environmental Studies
Moderator: Prof. Mario Loyola, FIU Institute of Environment, FIU College of Law 


11:45 PM to 12:45 PM   Lunch: Law School Atrium


12:45 PM to 1:35 PM   A Conversation with Melissa Roberts, Executive Director, American Flood Coalition


1:45 PM to 2:35 PM   Endangered Species Act at 50

Prof. Jonathan Adler, Case-Western University Law School
Prof. Alex Erwin, FIU College of Law


2:45 PM to 3:45 PM   Biodiversity Protection, Property Rights, and ESA Reform

Prof. Mike Ross, FIU Dept. of Earth & Environment
Dr. Steve Davis, Everglades Foundation
Prof. Dominic Parker, University of Wisconsin-Madison Dept. of Economics
Prof. Nancy McLaughlin, University of Utah College of Law
Moderator: Prof. Mario Loyola, FIU Institute of Environment, FIU College of Law


3:55 PM to 5:00 PM   Sustainable Energy: Obstacles and Opportunities

Prof. James Coleman, Southern Methodist University School of Law
Prof. David Adelman, University of Texas School of Law
Michael Buschbacher, Boyden Gray and Associates
Karen Hanley, Permitting Institute
Moderator: Prof. Mario Loyola, FIU Institute of Environment, FIU College of Law


6:00 PM Reception and Dinner FIU Int’l Center for Tropical Botany (Kampong) Coconut Grove
           By invitation

Dr. Elizabeth M. Bejar, Provost, Florida International University
Dean Michael Heithaus, FIU College of Arts Sciences and Education
Keynote: Kevin Guthrie, Florida Director of Emergency Management
           Hurricane Ian: Lessons for Coastal Resilience 



March 10th, 2023: Rafael Diaz Balart Hall 1000, FIU College of Law

8:30AM to 9:00 AM   Registration and Breakfast


9:00AM to 9:15 AM   Special Presentations

Silvio Pupo-Casco, Logos Capital, “The Promise of High-Tech Innovation”


9:15 AM to 10:25 AM:  Environmental Justice, CBA, and the OIRA Regulatory Process

Michael Fitzpatrick, Brunswick Group, Former Deputy Head of OIRA
Prof. Abigail Flemming, University of Miami Environmental Justice Clinic
Prof. Max Sarinsky, New York University School of Law
Joanne Spalding, Chief Climate Counsel, Sierra Club
Dr. Richard Belzer, Consultant, Former Chief Economist, OIRA
Moderator: Paul Ray, Heritage Foundation


10:35 AM to 11:45 PM:  ESG Investing: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Richard Morrison, Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute      
Prof. Flavio Carrillo, FIU Dept. of Finance
Prof. Max Schanzenbach, Northwestern University Law School
Alex Moreira, Aska Impact
Moderator: Prof. Luis Seco, University of Toronto Dept. of Mathematics


11:45 PM to 12:45 PM:  Lunch: Law School Atrium


12:45 PM to 2:00 PM:  Inaugural VoLo Foundation Lecture
Rafael Diaz Balart Hall 1100, FIU College of Law Auditorium

A Conversation with Bret Stephens, Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times Columnist: “Science, Free Speech, and Public Choice”

  • Registration

    Please fill out the form to register for this event.

  • 2022 Climate Finance Forum Recordings

    In 2022, the Environmental Finance and Risk Management Program hosted a full-day forum, the Climate Finance Forum, at FIU's main campus on May 13, 2022. The theme of the forum, Financial Innovation in Climate Policy, is the main focus of the EFRM program, which was launched in 2020 to explore the intersection of mathematical finance and climate risk.  The forum also introduced FIU’s new graduate certificate in Quantitative Environmental Finance.

    Welcome Remarks and Session 1: The Threat to South Florida's Urban Environment


    Session 2: Panel on The Future of Property Insurance


    Session 3: A Conversation with Prof. Philip K. Stoddard


    Session 4: Financial Innovation and Climate Policy and Session 5: Florida Wildlife Corridor


    Session 6: How AI and Big Data Can Improve ESG