The 26th annual Frank Church Conference on Public Affairs will take an in-depth look at current environmental and political challenges to pending negotiations on international climate change action Oct. 20.

The one-day conference, “The Global Environment: From Kyoto to Copenhagen,” will feature policy experts and speakers from a wide variety of institutions and backgrounds and their assessments of likely outcomes of the international summit on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark in December.

William Davis, director of the United Nations Center in Washington, D.C., will give the keynote address on “The Political Climate for Climate Change Negotiations’ at 7:30 p.m. in the Student Union Building Jordan Ballroom.

Other speakers include:
William Meadows, president, The Wilderness Society
Matthew McHugh, former congressman (D-NY), counselor, The World Bank
Dan Miller, former congressman (R-Fla.), professor, the University of South Florida and former fellow at the Kennedy School of Government
Michael Buck, National Association of State Foresters
John Gardner, vice president for energy research, policy and campus sustainability, Boise State
Don Reading, vice president, Ben Johnson Associates

The conference will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Boise State Student Union Jordan Ballroom with the keynote address at 7:30 p.m. All sessions (except for the luncheon and reception) are free and open to the public.

Davis is the United Nation’s senior representative in Washington, serving as a spokesman for the organization and working with officials in the executive branch, Congress, the media, civil society and the business community to further the relationship between the U.N. and the United States.

Before joining the United Nations, Davis was the director for global and functional affairs in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Legislative Affairs. He oversaw the department’s interaction with the U.S. Congress on global priorities such as international organizations, human rights, refugees, counter-narcotics and international environmental affairs. He led a staff of 10 foreign policy professionals who served as liaisons with Congress.  Davis also was the department’s senior legislative adviser on relations with Congress regarding the Secretary of State’s Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization.

McHugh and Miller are participating in the conference as part of the Congress to Campus program, sponsored by the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress. They will take part in the conference’s morning panel from 10 a.m. to noon and will make appearances in classes and other sessions while on campus Oct. 20 and 21.

The Frank Church Institute was established in 1982 as the Frank Church Chair of Public Affairs at Boise State University to honor the achievements and to carry forward the principles of the late U.S. Sen. Frank Church of Idaho. The goal of the Frank Church Institute is to build the endowment to fully fund the Frank Church Chair of Public Affairs, the annual Frank Church conferences and proposed Frank Church scholarships at Boise State.

For further information, go to the Institute Web site or contact Garry Wenske, executive director, The Frank Church Institute at ext. 6-2941, or garrywenske@boisestate.edu.