During the 24th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework 
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on 7 December 2018 in Katowice, Poland, Prof Barbara Mikolajczyk of the University of Silesia and CISDL Senior Director Professor Marie-Claire Cordonier Segger, who also holds a professorship in international law at the University of Waterloo and fellowships at the University of Cambridge, chaired the international law symposium Advancing Law & Governance Contributions to Climate Action under the Paris Agreement, which was directed by Adv. Ayman Cherkaoui, CISDL Lead Counsel for Climate Change and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact Morocco and Adv. Magdalena Stryja of the University of Silesia and the Silesia Bar Association. As the 4th annual Climate Law and Governance Day (CLGD), this high-level academic event drew an audience of over 200 government officials, general counsel of international organizations, law and policy practitioners, law deans, professors and students. CISDL associate fellows and University of Cambridge graduates Ms Elizabeth Campion, Ms Annika Brouwer and Ms Sioned Davies served on the secretariat of the event, participating in the symposium and the global climate change negotiations, which resulted in the ‘Katowice Rulebook’, a series of modalities and guidelines to facilitate implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
During the symposium, CISDL Lead Counsel Dr Markus Gehring and CISDL Associate 
Fellow Lic. Miguel Saldivia, University of Cambridge doctoral candidate, hosted an international experts roundtable on Innovative Instruments for a Sustainable Energy Transition. Building on their work through the International Law Association’s experts commission on the role of international law in sustainable management of natural resources for development, the session focused on how to implement the new Sustainable Development Mechanism under Art 6.4 of the Paris Agreement in order to promote new sustainable energy projects. It examined what can be learned from a comparison of new regulations promoting renewables, such as feed-in tariffs, quota systems and net metering, and considered legal and economic reforms to encourage innovations such as Negative Emissions Technologies (NETS), Bioenergy with Carbon Capture & Storage (BECCS) or Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). Speakers also considered how to address fossil fuel subsidies through reform, repeal or swaps, and the options for future UK-EU efforts on this front. With partners from the European Climate Foundation, the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL), the University of Waterloo School of Environment, Enterprise & Development (SEED) and the University of Cambridge Centre for Energy, Environment & Natural Resources Governance (CEENRG), it was a fascinating discussion leading to new research initiatives and recommendations.
Maitre Ayman Cherkaoui also chaired a Senior Jurists Plenary on Negotiating the Global 
Climate Regime – Legal Challenges & Opportunities under the UNFCCC & Paris Agreement, engaging senior negotiators and legal advisors to several delegations, including Adv. Hafijul Khan (Executive Director, Climate Justice Centre / Legal Research Fellow, CISDL) who advises the Least Developed Countries and Adv. Christopher Campbell-Duruflé (Associate Fellow, CISDL) who advises the African governments in a stimulating discussion on the contours of the Katowice Rulebook guidance on modalities for implementing the Paris Agreement worldwide. Maitre Cherkaoui also co-chaired, together with Adv. Wendy Miles QC, Vice-President of the International Chamber of Commerce Court of Arbitration and Partner, Debevoise LLP, an international experts panel on Risk, Disclosure & Diligence – Levers for Corporate Climate Engagement. The panel considered concerns related to corporate climate risk, and the need for corporate boards and broader private sector engagement and action, and its relevance for Paris Agreement implementation. Experts surveyed the drivers and levers that influence companies’ strategies and actions on climate change worldwide, with a focus on economic, financial, reputational and legal factors. They discussed the effectiveness of current legal mechanisms such as directors’ duties, due diligence & disclosure contribute to corporate engagement, and how to structure an enabling environment for corporate climate action. Expert speakers such as Adv. Vesselina Haralampieva (Principal Counsel, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development); Mr. Kamil Wyszkowski (General Director, Global Compact Poland); Ms. Beth Burks (ESG Associate, S&P Global Ratings); as well as graduate student and CISDL Climate Change Programme Coordinator Ms. Elizabeth Campion (Associate Fellow, CISDL / Researcher, HH-CCCE) engaged key partners such as the Global Compact Network and the emerging Hughes Hall Centre for Climate Change Engagement at the University of Cambridge to ensure a stimulating debate.
The international climate law and governance symposium during UNFCCC CoP24 provided 
an opportunity to share ideas, debate trends and advances, and build legal momentum for climate action and to facilitate dialogue among Party and Non-Party stakeholders, including government negotiators, judges, practitioners and the academic law and governance community. Principal themes focused on key international legal challenges and innovations related to climate change, including legal incentives scaling up for investment in Paris Agreement implementation; rule of law contributions to advancing climate justice and sustainable development agenda; legal pathways to low greenhouse gas emissions development strategies; and means for advancing transparency, compliance and engagement in the Paris Agreement. Other legal expert speakers and session chairs included Ms. Silvia Maciunas, Deputy Director of the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI); Adv. Ayman Cherkaoui, Special Advisor, UNFCCC COP22 Presidency, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact in Morocco, and Lead Counsel for Climate Change of the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (CISDL); Professor Christina Voigt, from University of Oslo who advises the Norwegian delegation; and Professor Alexandra Harrington, Fulbright Fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo.
The symposium was part of a series of activities hosted by Climate Law and Governance 
Initiative (CLGI), a coalition of different members of the Climate Law and Governance community including universities, institutes, international organisations, law associations and others. Other activities of LCIL fellows and graduates during UNFCCC CoP24 included holding consultations and advisory exchanges with key negotiators; co-hosting a Climate Law and Governance specialisation course with the UN FCCCC Secretariat, the United Nations University and other partners which trained over 40 government officials, legal practitioners, senior leaders of institutions and students in international law and policy on climate change; and hosting an international legal experts panel as an official side-event at the CoP24, where government officials and CISDL experts exchanged views on diverse issues, including the strengths and weaknesses of recent climate change related legal reforms among federal countries such as the UK, Canada and Germany.
The events built on the success of CLGD 2015 at La Sorbonne Law School during UNFCCC 
COP21 in Paris, France; CLGD 2016 at the Université Privée de Marrakech and Hassan I University during UNFCCC COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco and CLGD 2017 with the University of the South Pacific and the University of Bonn during UNFCCC COP23 in Bonn, Germany.