CANCELLED - Science, Solution, Paradigm: Green Chemistry at the Nexus of Innovation and Policy

We regret to say this talk had to be cancelled due to bad weather.

The Faculty of Law welcomes Professor Kira Matus, London School of Economics.

Abstract

There are multiple ways in which innovation interacts with policy and sustainability.  Policy is often considered as a tool for mitigating the negative impacts of technologies, many of which have created significant problems in regards to sustainability.  Policy can also be used proactively, to help spur innovations that support sustainability.  In fact, development of new technologies may in fact open up new avenues for more effective policy approaches to challenges to human health and the environment.  This talk will investigate the relationship between policies and innovations in the context of green chemistry.  Chemicals have one of the longest histories of regulatory and policy activity, and yet chemicals policy is just beginning to design policy to mobilize science and technology.  Green chemistry, in particular, is being discussed as scientific discipline, class of innovation, and as a distinct policy paradigm.  While the impacts of green chemistry technologies stem from their direct benefits to health and the environment, they also have potential to enablers of new policy approaches that will be more effective at dealing with dynamic sustainability problems.

About the speaker

Dr. Kira Matus is assistant professor of public policy and management in the Department of Government at the London School of Economics. She is also co-Project Director of the "Innovation and Access to Technologies for Sustainable Development Project" at Harvard's Sustainability Science Program. Her research focuses on the intersection of innovation, sustainable development, and public policy.  Prior to joining the LSE, she was a senior policy analyst at the Center for Green Chemistry & Engineering at Yale University.