Waterville Public Library

In partnership with the Camden Conference and the Waterville Public Library, the Mid-Maine Global Forum presents their Fall 2026 Speaker Series!

All events are free and open to the public. Saves the dates below and we hope you can join us!

Diana Elhard
“Negotiating our ‘Triple Planetary Crisis’: an Inside View of United Nations' Negotiations on Biodiversity, Pollution, and Climate Treaties”
Wednesday, Dec. 16th, 12pm

     This talk will focus on how environmental policy is formulated and provide an overview of current progress on the ‘Triple Planetary Crises’ of biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate change. In particular, she will share findings from her fieldwork and updates on the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, Plastics Pollution, and Climate Change UN negotiations taking place in late 2026 and early 2027.

  Presenter Diana K. Elhard has studied global environmental governance and policy since 2015, when she conducted research at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s COP21, where the Paris Accord was agreed. Her current research looks at the governance of international climate finance to better understand how decision-makers understand their work and create international policy through the process of international environmental negotiations. She aims to extend this work on finance and governance frameworks to additional environmental negotiations. At Colby College, Professor Elhard is in the Environmental Studies Department, where she teaches courses on international environmental policy, including global climate policy and plastics policy courses, and integrates a variety of approaches in her class, such as comparative policy analysis and political ecology frameworks. Professor Elhard earned her PhD in political science, with a focus on international relations and methods, from Northwestern University.

Past Speakers:

Ezgi Yildiz
"Who Governs the Oceans? The Law of the Sea in a Shifting World Order”
Friday, Oct. 30th, 12pm

Rob Weisbrot
“The Cold War in History and Current Conflicts”
Friday, Nov. 20th, 12pm 

Presented in partnership with Camden Conference and Waterville Public Library

Founded in 1997, the Mid-Maine Global Forum’s mission is to cultivate curiosity and awareness about complex global issues among the Central Maine community. Learn more at www.midmaineglobalforum.org.