Decarbonization: Policies and Practices for Countries and Companies
(HYBRID) April - May 2025
Instructors: Martin Dietrich Brauch, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI)
Laura Garcia Cancino, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI)
Description:
The Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outline a global consensus on the interlinked needs to curb human-induced climate change and to achieve sustainable development. The underlying transitions needed to achieve both the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement and the SDGs include rapid decarbonization of our global economy and a scale-up of new technologies to meet the needs of a growing and modernizing population.
The workshop will aim at deciphering what decarbonization means in practice, taking a multi-disciplinary perspective. Participants will learn about the opportunities and challenges of decarbonization, embracing different perspectives, from a global level to a country level to a company level. Participants will be exposed to the various disciplines at play in forming the decarbonization agenda and strategies: international law, economics, development and climate policy, technology, finance, and carbon or greenhouse gas accounting.
Learners will walk away with clear ideas on the imperative of decarbonization, the current state of decarbonization, and the measures necessary at all levels to mitigate climate change.
Learning objectives / themes:
- Decarbonization pathways – what does this mean? What are the main agreements the world signed onto that form the decarbonization agenda? What does the International Energy Agency (IEA) tell us about the pathways? Will it be costly? Will the world be better off? Are there sectors that are difficult to decarbonize? What promises do technologies hold for us? What are the risks of relying on offsets? Should developing countries, the least responsible for the climate crisis, decarbonize too?
- How to make, measure, and monitor progress? What are the global trends in carbon pricing? Does the world have the right tools to measure progress? Is there a problem with greenhouse gas or carbon accounting? What are the disclosure requirements on climate? Do they help monitoring, decision making, and enforcement?
- Can the force of global governance and international law be leveraged to make progress? Why is the international legal framework relevant for the climate change agenda? Under its current form, is it an enabler of decarbonization, or a barrier? What reforms are necessary to ensure that global governance is effective in supporting decarbonization?
- Decarbonization in practice: Taking the example of one country, Paraguay, and three economic sectors—critical minerals value chains, heavy industry, and, to a lesser extent, oil & gas—we will look at current practices, challenges, and opportunities when it comes to decarbonization.
Who this workshop is intended for: Participants should have a basic understanding of the world’s global agenda on climate change and the SDGs. This workshop is intended for individuals who have an interest in policies and practices enabling climate change mitigation, and are looking to gain a greater understanding of the implications of decarbonization on energy systems, economic development policies, and three sectors in particular: critical minerals value chains, heavy industry, and, to a lesser extent, oil & gas. Learners will walk away with core competencies including foundations of decarbonization policies, enabling technologies, and opportunities and challenges of implementation from the perspectives of governments and companies. The workshop will be accessible to learners from different backgrounds with basic understanding of the urgency to take climate action.
Learning modalities: It will feature a mix of lectures, discussions, and audio/visual materials. Please note that all courses are taught in English. Proficiency in written and spoken English is required.
Hybrid Format: This workshop will be offered in a hybrid format. For participants that opt into the virtual format, we will be using zoom. Local participants that are interested in attending in-person will convene at Columbia University. There is limited space to attend the workshop in-person. We can accomodate up to 25 people on a first come first serve basis.
Schedule: HYBRID April – May 2025. Session 1 will be 2 hours in length. All other sessions will run for 2 hours and 10 minutes.
Session 1: Introduction: What decarbonization means for the World?
Tuesday, April 15, 6.00-8.00pm ET
Session 2: How to make, measure, and monitor progress?
Tuesday, April 22, 5.50-8.00pm ET
Session 3: Can the force of global governance and international law be leveraged to make progress?
Tuesday, April 29, 5.50-8.00pm ET
Session 4: Case Study 1- Paraguay
Tuesday, May 6, 5.50-8.00pm ET
Session 5: Case Study 2- Critical mineral value chains and oil & gas
Tuesday, May 13, 5.50-8.00pm ET
Session 6: Case Study 3- Heavy Industry- GHG Accounting frameworks and private sector initiatives
Tuesday, May 20, 5.50-8.00pm ET
Session 7: Conclusion, Q&A, and Practice Exercise
Tuesday May 27, 5.50-8.00pm ET
Office Hours: By Appointment & virtually
Instructor Bios:
Martin Dietrich Brauch is a Lead Researcher at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI). He leads economic and legal research, training, and advisory work, with a focus on legal and policy frameworks and practices for sustainable investment to achieve climate change mitigation and adaptation goals—including through decarbonization and a just transition to net-zero emission energy systems and economies—along with other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). His work centers on the following focus areas at CCSI: Climate Change, Just Energy Transitions & Fossil Fuel Phaseout, Mining Governance & Critical Minerals, and Investment Law & Policy. He has worked extensively with developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, speaking English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish. Prior to joining CCSI, he worked as international law advisor at a global think tank, in-house counsel at a media conglomerate, and associate attorney at a boutique law firm. As a graduate student, he undertook a legal internship at United Nations Climate Change. He received a B.A. in Economics, a Bachelor of Laws, and a specialization certificate in Environmental Law from the Federal University of Pelotas, Brazil. He holds an LL.M. in International Legal Studies from NYU School of Law, where he was an IILJ International Law Fellow.
Laura Garcia Cancino is a Senior Legal Researcher at Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI), with a focus on leveraging law and metrics to address climate change and decarbonization challenges and accelerate the energy transition. Her expertise also encompasses the role of extractive industries' supply chains in decarbonization pathways, GHG accounting frameworks and their shortcomings, and private sector initiatives and mechanisms for industrial decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors. Prior to joining CCSI, her work at the International Energy Agency (IEA) centered on energy efficiency and demand-side measures’ pivotal role in reducing fossil fuel dependence and driving the energy transition. With a comprehensive legal background in Latin America, she has additionally served as in-house counsel for a company in the oil & gas sector, and as an Associate of an international law firm's Energy, Mining, and Infrastructure team, offering strategic guidance to multinational companies engaged in developing large-scale projects in the mining, oil & gas, power, and renewable sectors. She holds a J.D. from Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, an Advanced Degree in Mining & Energy Law and Sustainable Development from Universidad de los Andes, a Master of Science in International Energy from the Paris School of International Affairs at Sciences Po, and an LL.M. in Energy and Environmental Law from Georgetown University Law Center.