United Nations Secretary-General for the Environment Programme Elliot Harris will speak at Lehigh University Thursday, April 6, on “Achieving Sustainability – A Universal Challenge,” addressing issues related to climate change, greenhouse gases, clean/green energy, water pollution, carbon credits and more.
“It will be quite timely given the reversals announced recently by the Trump administration,” said Bill Hunter, director of the Lehigh University-United Nations Partnership, which is sponsoring the lecture. President Trump signed an executive order March 28 to roll back climate change regulations and efforts put in place by President Obama.
During his visit to Lehigh, Harris will meet with the university’s provost, faculty members and students in efforts to further understand the university’s environmentally related programs and research, and to investigate how Lehigh can expand collaboration with the UN Environment Programme, Hunter said.
Harris was appointed assistant secretary-general and head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2015. He joined the UNEP as director of the New York Office and secretariat of the UN Environment Management Group in 2013. Prior to joining UNEP, he was an economist in the International Monetary Fund, where he earlier worked on development issues and on strategy, policy and review. While at the IMF, he was the special representative to the United Nations and was closely involved in interagency collaboration on social protection, green economy and fiscal space for social policy. Prior to joining the IMF, Harris was vice chair of the High-Level Committee on Programs of the UN chief Executives Board for Coordination.
The free public talk will be at 4 p.m. in Linderman Library Room 200, on the Lehigh University campus, 30 Library Dr., Bethlehem.
Information Provided By:
Amy White
Associate Director of Media Relations
Lehigh University
