The Growing Energy and Environmental Policy Community at Georgetown University

McCourt E&E is at the center of the rapid growth in Georgetown University’s E&E Policy Community.

Sean Paul
Sean Paul
Aug 26, 2017 · 4 min read

By Sean Paul, President of McCourt E&E at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy

Two years ago, McCourt E&E’s Founder Will Hackman (MPP ’18) set foot on Georgetown’s campus and got to work building a student organization focused on energy, environmental, and climate change policy. McCourt E&E was the McCourt School of Public Policy’s first group of its kind and its goal was to build an engaged constituency of students, academics, and practitioners in order to foster collaboration and find policy solutions to some of society’s biggest challenges.

In the first McCourt E&E blog post, Will laid out his vision and stated:

“The demand for well-trained [energy and environmental] policy professionals is clear. Federal, state, and local lawmakers will all face policy choices related to climate change in the coming years. These may include how to: ensure coastal cities are resilient in the face of rising sea levels and storm surge, address reduced water supply in agriculture, find new sources of power that ensure an operational electric grid during natural disasters, increase energy efficiency in industrial, commercial, and residential sectors, address public health concerns by improving air and water quality, secure a sustainable food supply for growing populations, and much more. As the list of public and private sector adaptation challenges grows, building a community here at Georgetown that enables us to keep pace just makes sense.”

Over the last two years, McCourt E&E has solidified its role at the center of the energy and environmental policy community within the McCourt School and Georgetown University community. In November 2016, McCourt E&E sent Georgetown students to attend and observe the United Nations climate conference in Morocco. At the conference, they bore witness to the critical negotiations that take place when building global climate mitigation and adaptation strategies. Members of McCourt E&E engaged with world leaders as they sought to implement the historic Paris climate agreement (passed the year prior) and worked to bridge political, economic, and cultural gaps to create a framework for international collaboration. Here is an article published by the Georgetown Public Policy Review on the lessons those students learned from their incredible experience.

McCourt E&E has solidified its role at the center of the energy and environmental policy community within the McCourt School and Georgetown University community

On Earth Day 2017, McCourt E&E partnered with the Sustainable Oceans Alliance to organize the Third Annual Sustainable Oceans Summit. E&E and SOA set out to #maketheoceanfamous during the summit by bringing together award-winning scientists, photographers, activists, and industry leaders. The speakers addressed the most challenging topics facing ocean conservationists today, including acidification, overfishing, waste cleanup, and more, as well as the intersection between the ocean and climate change. The event was livestreamed to more than 2,000 people around the world and reached 1.32 million people on Twitter. Here is a recap of the Summit’s successes that was highlighted on the front page of Georgetown University’s website.

As well as these large successes, McCourt E&E has hosted numerous small roundtable policy conservations on a host of topics, screened environmental documentary films, and partnered with many other student and professional organizations to bring many opportunities for education and engagement to the McCourt community. McCourt E&E has become Georgetown’s touchstone for energy, environmental, and climate change policy. The sharpest environmental policy minds in the Georgetown Community are brought together through McCourt E&E. And in two short years, our influence has spread far and wide.

I am thrilled to continue this important work and to continue to organize events, share information, and provide services to students to foster the continued growth of a rich network of students, alumni, and environmental experts. We are, and will continue to be, the premiere resource for students to expand their knowledge and expertise in energy and environmental policy.

Our mission is more important now more than ever. The future of American environmental leadership is at stake. Evidence-based policy development is needed now more than ever before, which means we need policy professionals who are committed to the environmental movement to stand up and make their voices heard. If immediate action is not taken, we may soon go beyond the point of no return and will guarantee disastrous levels of climate disruption.

Help us continue the effort by joining our team this semester either as a general volunteer or as part of our leadership team. Come attend one of our events, follow our blog on Medium, and be sure to follow us on Facebook. We need your help. Together, we can organize tomorrow’s leaders of the environmental movement and ensure that there are enough well-trained policy professionals who can address the coming challenges that will impact all of society. This is up to us.

Sean Paul (MPP ’18) is a second-year student at the McCourt School of Public Policy

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Sean Paul

Written by

Sean Paul

McCourt E&E

The McCourt Energy & Environmental Policy group engages students, academics, and practitioners on policy issues related to energy and the environment.

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