Public Health faculty member and project scientist, Dr. Mojgan Sami, is on her way to Paris as a member of an official civil society delegation. She was invited by the International Environment Forum, to advocate for enhanced accountability, equity and justice in climate change policy at COP21 (November 30 – December 11, 2015). The UCI Sustainability Initiative and the Program in Public Health supported Dr. Sami’s participation in COP21. She has also been invited to post-Paris meetings on the role of ethics in climate change policy throughout Europe.
Dr. Sami is a lecturer in Public Health and currently a member of an evaluation team working on a CDC funded grant in Orange County called “The Orange County Partnerships to Improve Community Health” (OC PICH) which aims to reduce chronic disease in underserved communities through promotion of active transportation and in physical activity. She is also working with colleagues on an interdisciplinary team studying the health impacts of the current Indonesian forest fires. Dr. Sami came to UCI after a career in global health and development, having had appointments at the World Bank and the World Health Organization.

About the Workshop

Dr. Sami will participate as a speaker in the following workshop while at COP21.
Principles for accountability for climate change agreements
Principes de responsabilité pour les accords sur le changement climatique
Principios de la responsabilidad para los acuerdos sobre el cambio climático
Thursday 10 December, 13:15-14:45 in Room 8, Climate Generations Area
Signing an agreement is only the first step in going from policy to action. Experience is now showing that agreements need to be accompanied by processes within a well established governance framework to hold parties accountable for implementing the commitments made and decisions taken.  Accountability can take various forms, internal or external, by peers or the general public, with statistics or qualitative measures, with different levels of effectiveness. This workshop will explore the challenges of accountability in international governance in general and for the Paris outcomes in particular, and encourage all those present to consider the accountability mechanisms relevant to their own situations, including for governments, communities, the public, the media, and civil society organizations.
Speakers:

• Prof. Sylvia Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen, Public Administration and Policy Group, Wageningen University, Netherlands
• Dr. Arthur Dahl, International Environment Forum, Switzerland, and retired senior UNEP official
• Prof. Victoria Thoresen, Hedmark University College, Norway, and UNESCO Chair for Education about Sustainable Lifestyles
• Dr. Mojgan Sami, University of California Irvine, Program in Public Health, Sustainability Initiative, USA
• Sébastien Duyck, Northern Institute for Environmental and Minority Law, Arctic Centre, Finland