THE WEBINAR SERIES

The Environmental Law Institute, with the support of our GreenTech sponsors, is pleased to welcome you to the GreenTech Webinar Series. This free webinar series brings together environmental thought leaders on a wide-range of timely topics, including tech equity, renewable energy technologies, digitization of water and energy services, and closed loop supply chains. The series also touches on the challenges of catalyzing technologies to benefit the environment, including raising capital and intellectual property protections. Join these conversations to learn about current technology solutions applied to real-world environmental challenges and contribute to the debate on the social, economic, and policy implications.

Upcoming Webinars

Stay tuned for our next webinar announcement.

Past Webinars

July 10, 2023 1:00-2:00pm ET - Decarbonization of the Aviation Sector: Goals, Pathways, and Policies

WATCH HERE. Slides and summary coming soon.

The aviation sector represents nearly 3% of global carbon emissions, and there are myriad efforts underway to decarbonize the sector. For example, numerous Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) technologies are under development, and ambitious goals being set by the federal government and aviation industry participants. What does a vision for decarbonization contemplate and on what timescale? How do various SAF technologies work and what is their potential? Are existing state and federal legal frameworks set up to manage them? What does sound policy look like with respect to incentives and subsidies for SAF and new aviation engine technologies? To examine these issues and more, the Environmental Law Institute and Arnold & Porter are pleased to co-host a roundtable discussion. Panel speakers with diverse perspectives and extensive experience in government, the private sector, and NGOs will evaluate and discuss key legal and policy considerations, including questions around development of SAF at scale. Join us for a conversation exploring current and future dynamics in this emerging area.

April 24, 2023 2:00-3:15pm ET - Driving Towards Equity: Innovations in EV Policy, Pricing, and the IRA’s Clean Vehicle Credit

WATCH HERE. VIEW SLIDES HERE. Summary coming soon.

The trajectory of electric vehicles has not been a straight line, but adoption is accelerating due to the growing climate crisis, corporate buy-in, and climbing gas prices. Accompanying the growth of the electric vehicle market are conversations about ensuring proper policy to regulate it, the impacts of the IRA, and the infrastructure to support it. Today, demand for electric vehicles is at an all-time high, and governance is trying to keep up. One of the most prominent challenges is accelerating the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and those without access to a private garage or other home parking space may find it more difficult to participate in this technology—both an adoption and environmental justice concern. In this webinar, expert panelists will discuss these issues and more surrounding the move to electrify transportation. We will explore not only leading innovations in the EV space but also creative regulatory mechanisms and government initiatives adapted for this new technology. ELI’s GreenTech initiative is a leading convenor in the space between technological innovation for environmental good and legal and policy regulation.

February 2, 2023 3:00-4:15pm ET - Exploring Green Hydrogen's Role in our Energy Future

WATCH HERE. VIEW SLIDES HERE. Summary coming soon.

As the United States moves towards a renewable future, many questions remain on how the country will transition to net zero. What is certain, is that the United States will need a variety of clean energy sources to achieve this transition. Green Hydrogen presents an opportunity to aid this transition, with the potential to save the 830 million tonnes of CO2 that are emitted annually when this gas is produced using fossil fuels. Hydrogen is storable, versatile, and sustainable, yet challenges remain to its adoption. This GreenTech webinar, moderated by Beth Deane, will explore the opportunities and challenges facing green hydrogen development.

July 18, 2022, 2:00-3:15pm ET - The Role of Carbon Capture and Direct Air Capture Technology in Our Climate Strategy

WATCH HERE. READ SUMMARY HERE.

The IPCC and the Biden Administration have each recently emphasized the critical role that Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS) and Direct Air Capture (DAC) technologies must play in order to achieve global climate change goals. How do these technologies work and what do they offer? Are existing state and federal legal frameworks up to the task? How can these technologies be developed responsibly and in a manner that incorporates principles of equity and inclusion?

To examine these issues in a constructive and forward-looking manner, Arnold & Porter and the Environmental Law Institute are pleased to co-host a roundtable discussion.. Panel speakers with diverse perspectives and extensive experience in the government, the private sector, and NGOs will evaluate and discuss key legal and policy considerations, including questions around developing CCUS and DAC at scale. Join us for a conversation that regulators, carbon capture proponents, environmental and energy lawyers, and other stake holders won’t want to miss.

March 17, 2022, 2:00-3:15pm ET - Green Construction: The Future of Building

WATCH HERE. READ SUMMARY HERE.

The built environment is one of the greatest areas of embodied carbon emissions and a challenge to carbon-reduction efforts. A recent study indicated that new construction could consume up to 20% of the global carbon budget to 2050 without changes to material production and deployment. At the same time, demand is increasing for affordable high-quality housing. This GreenTech Webinar will explore developments in construction that aim to reduce the carbon footprint of commercial and residential buildings at all points of the supply chain, potentially turning one of the most stubborn areas of the carbon footprint into a global opportunity for sustainability and housing equity. We will be joined by experts in building materials and design to explore the future of building.

January 19th, 2022, 1:00 - 2:15 pm ET - Technology and Climate Resiliency

WATCH HERE. READ SUMMARY HERE.

Technology is playing a major role in identifying, anticipating, responding, and adapting to the negative consequences of rapidly rising global temperatures. The recently concluded United Nations COP-26 proceedings confirmed the serious questions that remain about the extent and schedule on which humans collectively will modify critical behaviors to mitigate the damaging influence of their activities on our planet’s climate and build resiliency. What is not subject to question is that individuals, organizations, and governments recognize the important and expanding role that technology must play as we seek to anticipate harms and direct resources to maintain the resilience of critical societal sectors, including energy, utility, transportation and physical infrastructure, our food and agricultural industries and our national security services. This webinar, moderated by Rob Kirsch, retired WilmerHale partner and former chair of that firm’s energy and environmental practice, will address how technology is being deployed in those efforts and explore whether there are actions that might enhance the effectiveness of resilience strategies identified through the use of technology.

November 15, 2021, 2:00-3:15 pm ET - Using the World’s Data Lake to Solve Global Challenges

The world is sitting on a global data lake that is vastly underutilized. Humans have more data at their fingertips than ever before in history. What if we could harness the world’s data in a new way to solve some of the largest challenges facing humankind? Moderated by Paul A. Davies of Latham & Watkins LLP’s London office, This panel will bring together legal and scientific experts to discuss how we can use the world’s data lake to take a more predictive approach to solving global challenges. The panel will specifically look at the example of how the data lake can be interrogated and utilized to individually measure track, and trade carbon emissions, to allow individuals across the globe to drastically reduce their carbon footprint, through the power of data intelligence.

WATCH HERE. READ SUMMARY HERE.

July 29, 2021, 2:00pm to 3:15pm ET - Technology and Environmental Justice

The events of 2020 brought new urgency to the issue of racial justice and equality. This webinar, moderated by ELI’s President, Scott Fulton, will focus on the potential role of technology in helping ensure the just distribution of environmental benefits, burdens, and opportunities across society. The panel will bring together experts from the tech sector, government, and the environmental justice community to explore the potential of technology to sharpen understanding of which communities are environmentally overburdened and to highlight the sources of those burdens. The panel will also consider current barriers to access to technology and technology-enabled information and how those barriers might be overcome so that technology’s full potential in this space can be realized.

WATCH HERE. READ SUMMARY HERE.

May 13, 2021, 2:00pm - 3:15pm ET - IP Challenges for Green Tech Companies: Developments in Patent Ineligibility And Trade Secret Protection

Securing appropriate intellectual property protection is crucial for any innovative green tech company. However, it can be hard to keep up with the constantly evolving, and sometimes unclear, body of intellectual property law. This webinar, presented by IP litigators Deepa Acharya and Sam Stake of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, along with Charles “Chuck” Hawkins, Assistant General Counsel, of Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., will highlight recent developments in two rapidly-changing areas of intellectual property law that apply to nearly all types of green technology: patent ineligibility and trade secret protection. First, we will discuss recent Supreme Court and Federal Circuit precedent regarding the patent ineligibility of abstract ideas, as well as how these standards have been applied to the green tech industry in particular. Second, we will discuss recent developments in trade secret law, including involving the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016, and we will discuss lessons from recent trade secret disputes involving green tech companies. This webinar will be introduced by Brad Marten, Managing Partner, Marten Law LLP.

WATCH HERE. READ SUMMARY HERE.

June 28, 2021, 2:00 - 3:15 pm ET - Leveraging Technology to Green the Transportation Sector

In many countries, including the United States, the transportation sector is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.  Transportation is also one of the most costly expenses for American households.  One of the best ways to protect our environment, drive economic growth, and meet the needs of the public today and into the future is to make the global transportation system more efficient and resilient.  Technology and innovation necessarily play a vital role in achieving this objective.  This panel led by Katie Thomson, Vice President and Association General Counsel for Worldwide Transportation and Sustainability at Amazon will explore the use of technology – from air to highways to rail to water – to green the transportation sector.  The panel will also discuss the challenges and opportunities in leveraging technology and the need for collaboration and investment across a diverse group of stakeholders to deliver successful, lasting outcomes.

WATCH HERE. READ SUMMARY HERE.

March 24, 2021, 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm ET - The Emerging Circular Economy

The Circular Economy is rapidly gaining traction as a means to design and build more sustainable and lower carbon businesses. This session, moderated by John Lovenburg, Vice President for Environmental at BNSF Railway, will begin with a summary of key concepts including closed-loop supply chains and the upcycling of materials. A roundtable discussion of expert panelists will provide insights on innovative waste-to-product businesses, and illuminate the need for a revamped sustainability-focused legal and policy framework.

WATCH HERE. READ SUMMARY HERE.

February 18, 2021, 2:00 - 3:15 pm ET - Environmental Applications & Implications of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has rapidly expanded in recent years, becoming both more sophisticated and more prolific as legal and regulatory frameworks struggle to keep up. While the rise of AI has garnered much attention, the environmental implications are often overlooked. Across sectors, AI holds immense promise for environmental protection and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Algorithms can help reduce pesticide use through precision agriculture, increase the efficiency of the energy grid, and much more. At the same time, without proper controls, AI has the potential for environmental harm. Like the technology itself, AI’s effects on the environment are both widespread and quite complicated. In this webinar, our panel will discuss the environmental applications and implications of AI. What promise does AI hold for environmental protection? What concerns does it raise? And perhaps most importantly, what governance mechanisms are needed to ensure that we harness the opportunity while mitigating environmental harms?

WATCH HERE. READ SUMMARY HERE.

January 14, 2021 - 2:00 - 3:15 pm ET - Liberating Digital Solutions for the Environment: Catalyzing New Ideas

Entrepreneurs and startup companies may have a wealth of creativity, energy, and determination, but they often lack the one thing necessary to bring their ideas to fruition — capital. As a result, some are turning to larger companies to help fund the work. How can we increase and improve collaboration between large corporations and start-ups to accelerate innovation? At this webinar, moderated by Nicole Systrom, founder of Sutro Energy Group, learn from entrepreneurs who have successfully used corporate collaboration to further their companies as well as from those in the corporate world who have helped shaped these financial arrangements. Some topics to be discussed include direct finance, joint development projects, IP negotiation, and more.

WATCH HERE. READ SUMMARY HERE.

November 17, 2020, 2:00 - 3:15 pm ET - Digital Solutions to Climate and Water Challenges

Meeting the United Nations’ target of a net zero carbon society by 2050 will require a thorough reworking of how we generate, distribute, and use energy as well as how we manage water. One of the most promising, cost-effective sets of solutions to come out of the information and communications technology (ICT) sector is the “digitalization” of energy and water services. Metaphorically, analysts talk of how ICT applications project a “handprint” that can help reduce the climate and water “footprint” of other sectors. And collectively, the environmental and social benefits that digitalization offers—its handprint—could outweigh the negative impacts. How do we harness this technology to its fullest potential? This webinar, moderated by Steve Harper of Intel Corporation, will focus on digital solutions, their digital handprint, and how public policies can help maximize their contribution to climate and water solutions.

WATCH HERE. READ SUMMARY HERE.