‘Research in the service of ecological transition’: words from Christel Cournil, professor of public law at Sciences Po Toulouse

I followed a traditional law programme at Toulouse Capitole University, where I completed five years of study in public law and wrote my doctoral thesis on migration issues, entitled ‘The internal status of foreigners and supranational standards’, supervised by Jean-Pierre Théron. After thirteen years as a senior lecturer at Paris 13 University, in 2019 I was appointed professor at Sciences Po Toulouse.
 

During a postdoctoral fellowship funded by a CNES grant, I had the opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary setting with a geophysicist on natural resource management in Mali. We cross-referenced satellite data with the country's social and legal norms. This initial experience raised my awareness of environmental issues. I then joined the IRIS research laboratory at Paris 13 University, which is mainly composed of sociologists and anthropologists. I was able to study the issue of environmental migration, as well as the broader issues of immigration law and environmental law. In 2015, I became interested in climate litigation and commented on a landmark decision, ‘Urgenda’, handed down in the Netherlands. This initiative was decisive in my career as it led me to meet the association Notre Affaire à Tous, of which I am now a member and with whom I organised the first international symposium on climate litigation. I subsequently coordinated a book on major climate cases and am currently working on the subject of environmental victims

Shortly after lockdown, we saw the emergence of a generation of highly committed students, inspired by the Pour un réveil écologique movement. They proposed creating a green plan for the institution. The director at the time, Olivier Brossard, appointed me as ecological transition manager. In concrete terms, we began transforming the training programme: an 80-hour module dedicated to ecological transition, multidisciplinary and multi-year, is now offered to our students. In terms of research, several measures have been taken: the creation of a guide for committed researchers, the adoption of a charter and the calculation of the carbon footprint of our laboratories (LEREPS and LASSP) with the help of the Labos 1point5 collective. Other actions have been carried out on campus: the introduction of waste sorting, training in energy efficiency, discussions on transport, a transition plan and an energy efficiency plan, etc. Every year, we also organise the Rentrée du climat, an event that allows the whole community to take part in climate and food frescoes, 2tonnes workshops and conferences.
 

I chair the Committee for Ecological Transition at Sciences Po Toulouse, which was created in 2020 and comprises seven members. Thanks to the initiative of students, we have set up several projects: a shared library, an outing with a naturalist, an ecology week, a digital clean-up week, an award for dissertations on ecological transition, and more. Some students were also able to attend COP 26 to observe the international negotiations. Their commitment is rewarded with a bonus. In terms of teaching, in 2021 I took on the co-direction of an interdisciplinary course called TERS (Ecological Transition, Risks and Health). These students take a course in climate law, as well as training in carbon footprint assessment.
 

Teaching law to Sciences Po students is very stimulating. We are not training future lawyers, but rather giving them a broader, more systemic, more comprehensive and also more critical view of legal issues. They are the future public actors, so there is a real interest in raising their awareness. In my previous position at a medical school, I trained future hospital managers. My goal has always been to work in an interdisciplinary manner.

Led by Sandrine Maljean-Dubois, this interdisciplinary project focuses on the issue of expertise in climate trials. In order to effectively argue a particular point of view in support of the climate cause, plaintiffs have no choice but to acquire knowledge and data from a variety of sources, which is technical, complex and multidisciplinary, and to use this as a basis for building an expert case that is often enriched by lay knowledge (e.g. victim testimonies). In this context, we are studying several emblematic court cases: the Affaire du siècle, the Total case, the Grande-Synthe case, etc. The aim is also to listen to, engage with and interview the various parties involved in the appeals, whether they are academics, young lawyers working for NGOs, ordinary citizens or climate victims. This work has resulted in a series of seminars, posted on YouTube, and the publication of a book entitled ‘Experts, Expertise and Climate Lawsuits,’ published by the University of Aix-Marseille.

I have already had interactions with IEJUC teachers, such as Carole Hermon, with whom I am currently working on a symposium on ecological compensation. And as vice-president of the French Society for the Protection of the Environment in Occitanie, I have had the opportunity to meet several fellow lawyers working on environmental issues and invite them to join us. I am also involved in two AMI projects currently under consideration, CLIMACT and PRODEMO.

Yes, since this summer I have been working on a new area: phasing out fossil fuels. Is this credible in terms of governance and international cooperation? This issue is indeed increasingly present in COPs and clubs of states. We are also seeing many associations filing appeals to shut down new fossil fuel operations or to encourage the Carbon Majors to change their transition plans. This is my new favourite topic.