Climate Change and Global Justice

The Department of Philosophy at the University of Washington, Seattle is proud to announce a graduate conference titled Climate Change and Global Justice to be held on the UW Seattle campus on April 16th and 17th, 2026. This conference will focus on how to best respond to global challenges such as climate change, centering on questions of justice, legitimacy, and transformation of political institutions. We are enthusiastic to share that Dr. Jamie Draper from Utrecht University will be joining us in Seattle as our keynote speaker. Professor Draper is known for his work on migration, climate displacement, and political philosophy, including the bookClimate Displacement(OUP 2023) and an edited volumeThe Political Philosophy of Internal Displacement(OUP 2024, with David Owen). His research currently focuses on topics such as the spatial dimensions of inequality, the ethics of green industrial policy, and the regulation of labour migration. For more information, please visit his websitehere. 

Graduate students are invited to submit abstracts on projects relevant to Professor Draper’s ongoing research, but we also welcome submissions on any aspects of social and political philosophy. Abstracts should be prepared for blind review by including a detachable cover page with the paper’s title, author’s name, mailing address, email, phone number, institutional affiliation, and word count. Please omit any self-identifying remarks within the body of the abstract. Abstracts should be between 250-500 words in length.

To apply for this conference, email your abstract to [email protected] by Wednesday, December 31st, 2025. Submission acceptances will be announced by February 2026. The conference will have a pre-read format, and by March 26th, 2026 you will be expected to provide a full paper, which will be circulated to other presenters. Your conference presentation should focus on the core ideas of the paper without presenting it in its entirety. Papers should be between 4,000-8,000 words. 

We especially recommend submissions addressing topics such as:

• Migration and displacement 

• Global justice

• Intergenerational ethics and institutions for the future

• Environmental ethics and justice 

• Climate change as a challenge to the protection of human rights