Dr Rebecca Williams
- Lecturer in Environmental Law (School of Law)
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7045-918XBiography
I joined the Law School as a Lecturer in Environmental Law in September 2023. Previously, I worked at Edinburgh Napier University and the University of Strathclyde where I was the Interim Director of the Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance. I completed my PhD at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy.
My research interests include the intersection of the agricultural sector and environmental law and governance, particularly with respect to climate change, forests, nitrates management, trade, public health, food security and climate justice. My research spans international and European law in addition to other agricultural ‘hotspots’ such as South America. Beyond this, I have a general interest in international climate change law, and particularly Youth participation in climate governance.
Research interests
My research interests include the intersection of the agricultural sector and environmental law and governance, particularly with respect to climate change, forests, nitrates management, trade, public health, food security and climate justice. My research spans international and European law in addition to other agricultural ‘hotspots’ such as South America. My forthcoming monograph based on my PhD titled Climate Change, Cattle and the International Legal Order is forthcoming with Hart Publishing in 2024.
More generally, I have an interest in international climate change law. I attended COP26 on behalf of the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law and helped to organise numerous side events for the conferences. This included the prominent Climate Law and Governance Day and Specialisation Course where I was invited as an expert teacher to help train national delegates on the Paris Agreement and its provisions. Since then, I have been invited by the UK Environmental Law Association (UKELA) to speak about the Paris Agreement at its annual conference.
Within my work in climate change law, I have keen interest in improving Youth participation in climate decision making and action, having organised numerous events on Transnational Youth Climate Participation and Mobilisation bringing together young climate leaders from the Global South, civil society workers, policy makers and academics. I am also currently working on a Society of Legal Scholar's funded project on how to introduce climate justice into clinical legal education to utilise law students to help bridge justice gaps that exist for climate issues.
Teaching
At Glasgow I teach on the following courses:
- Enviromental Law (Level 2)
- Law and Sustainability (Honours)
- EU as a Global Actor (Honours)
- Climate Change Law (LLM)
I am also the Academic Supervisor for the Environmental Law Foundation Project at Glasgow, where students undertake policy research on environmental issues.