Amid the quiet dignity of the Gail D. Serota, J.D. ‘79 Reading Room, a conversation of global consequence is set to take place. On Tuesday, January 20, 2026, the University of Miami School of Law will host a dialogue that looks past the immediate weather patterns to the long-term demographic shifts of a warming world.
The Environmental Law Program is presenting the latest installment of its "Books and Beverages" series featuring a homecoming for Jesse Keenan, Real Property Development LL.M. ’05. Keenan, now a celebrated climate law scholar at Tulane University, returns to campus to discuss his provocative book, “North: The Future of Post-Climate America’ with Katharine Mach, professor and chair of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School, specializing in climate-related risks and adaptation strategies.
If Keenan’s title sounds like a directive, that is because it might well be. In North, Keenan argues that the United States is standing on the precipice of a new era defined not just by rising temperatures, but the dawning of a post-climate era in America through an exploration of how people and markets are adapting to climate change.
Keenan is uniquely positioned to read these tea leaves. Currently the Favrot II Associate Professor of Sustainable Real Estate and Urban Planning at Tulane, he has spent his career at the intersection of design, engineering, and finance. His resume includes past faculty stints at the Harvard Graduate School of Design and Columbia University, and his expertise has been sought by agencies of the U.S. government, governors, and Fortune 500 companies.
But North is not merely a collection of scientific projections or a eulogy for the places left behind. It is, in Keenan’s hands, a projection of optimism. He outlines how adaptation science—how people, governments, and markets prepare for the inevitable—can lead to decarbonization and economic mobility for those willing to make the move.
"Jesse Keenan isn’t just predicting the weather; he’s predicting the economy, the culture, and the very layout of our future society," said professor Jessica Owley, director of the Environmental Law Program. "We invite everyone to join us for this conversation because understanding where we are going is the first step in ensuring we don't get lost along the way."
The event begins at 5:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public with registration. Whether you are a legal scholar, a student of urban planning, or simply a citizen concerned with the changing environment, this is a chance to engage with one of the leading voices on the built environment before the map changes for good.
Read more about Miami Law’s environmental law area of study.
