Risk, Uncertainty, and Precaution in the New Genetic Era
October 8, 2024
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time
International House, UC Berkeley School of Law
This conference will discuss the regulatory needs of the rapidly developing field of gene editing for environmental purposes, particularly uses relating to climate change. Based on work by Berkeley’s Jennifer Doudna and others, CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) is the latest new genomic technique (NGT), earning the label of “the biggest biotech discovery of the century.” The scientific progress on the environmental uses of the technology is already on the upward trajectory. CRISPR-based gene editing has recently emerged as a promising platform technology for sustainable energy and food production, GHG emission reduction, and novel applications for addressing climate change effects. Human gene editing has been characterized by a cautionary approach and wide-ranging debate, but we have yet to see a similar debate about the moral, ethical, and social implications of environmental applications of gene editing.
Featuring panel discussions with leading experts in the field on the potential and impacts of CRISPR across legal domains, the event aims to enable a mutual exchange of expertise, approaches, and concerns about this rapidly expanding field. Ultimately, the conference aims to foster a more thorough assessment of the risks and benefits of gene editing for environmental purposes, from a holistic and ecosystem-based perspective, providing the necessary deliberative platform and scholarship momentum toward a Global Summit on Environmental Gene Editing.
Conference Program
Keynote: The Spirit of Asilomar
Is CRISPR creating momentum for “another Asilomar”? The opening keynote will address this question by providing a rich account of the original Asilomar Conference as a pivotal event in biotechnology’s history and the incipit of early US regulatory initiatives.
Panel #1: Gene Editing for the Climate and Sustainability
This panel will explore the potential of CRISPR technology to tackle climate-related environmental issues, focusing on its applications for adaptation and mitigation measures. It will also examine various legal intersections associated with these applications, highlighting both the coordination challenges and opportunities for regulatory synergies.
Panel #2: CRISPR Wildlife & Conservation Applications
The discussion to take place in the second panel will zoom in on CRISPR’s application on wildlife, such as gene drives and synthetic genetic engineering for conservation, highlighting technical, legal, ethical, and social implications of tampering with evolution.
Panel #3: (De)Regulating CRISPR’d Organisms: A Comparative Look at Current EU and US Approaches
This panel will analyze the latest regulatory updates in both the EU and US, driven by the advent of CRISPR in the environmental domain. It will place particular emphasis on the ongoing reform of EU GMO laws, exploring implications for risk, uncertainty, and precaution in the CRISPR era.