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As experts on international humanitarian policy and relief efforts, Batten's Kirsten Gelsdorf and co-author Jacob Kurtzer write that while humanitarian corridors could create safe exit routes out of besieged cities – and allow aid to reach people within Ukraine – they are only part of the solution to protecting civilians during war.
Mar 12, 2022

Humanitarian corridors could help civilians safely leave Ukraine – but Russia has a history of not respecting these pathways

As experts on international humanitarian policy and relief efforts, Batten's Kirsten Gelsdorf and co-author Jacob Kurtzer write that while humanitarian corridors could create safe exit routes out of besieged cities – and allow aid to reach people within Ukraine – they are only part of the solution to protecting civilians during war.

Makayla Palazzo
Aug 21, 2021

Batten Experts Discuss Humanitarian Response to Earthquake in Haiti with BBC, Christian Science Monitor

Batten School experts are weighing in on the international humanitarian response to the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that shook Haiti last weekend. Batten professor Kirsten Gelsdorf, who worked in 2010  as the Humanitarian Advisor to President Clinton in his role as the UN Special Envoy for the Haiti Earthquake, spoke to The Christian Science Monitor and alum Makayla Palazzo (MPP ’18) joined "BBC World News" live from Port-au-Prince.

A lump of coal sits between the railroad tracks where for decades it was delivered to generate electricity at the Yorktown Power station, where two coal powered steam turbines were shut down in 2019. (Rob Ostermaier)
Aug 18, 2021

Shobe: Net-zero emissions by 2050 are achievable, affordable in Va.

In an article for The Virginian-Pilot, Batten's William Shobe writes that with careful planning and policy design, decarbonization in the Commonwealth is achievable by 2050. Earlier this year, Shobe and his colleagues at UVA’s Energy Transition Initiative released the state's first study to analyze the actions needed to reach this goal.

Garrett Hall at Sunset

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