The Sumaúma Pledging Tree for Human Rights-Based Climate Action is a new initiative that encourages governments, organisations and other stakeholders to make meaningful commitments that place human rights at the centre of climate action.

Prof Elisa Morgera is part of a team to receive funding from the Swiss Network of International Studies.

How can we better translate climate science into nationally determined contributions (NDCs)? This question was at the heart of the ELEVATE-ProClima Workshop, that brought together researchers, policymakers and international organisations to explore how scientific evidence informs setting ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse emissions in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and negotiations towards COP31. 

The Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy (CSDLP) is delighted to welcome Professor Lorenzo Cotula as a Visiting Professor at Durham Law School for a period of 3 years.

We welcome expressions of interest from staff and students interested in joining the Durham Delegation at COP31 in Antalya, Turkey this year. Please submit your expression of interest by the 3rd July 2026.

The Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy (CSDLP) was delighted that Prof Petra Minnerop presented at the Second Conference on Attribution Science and Climate Law, hosted by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University in New York on 10–11 June 2026.

On 19 May 2026, we launched our new series entitled "Research Conversations with" to bring leading voices of international law to Durham for in-depth in-person discussions around work-in-progress papers and emerging topical questions in environmental and climate law. 

Professor Elisa Morgera conducted an academic visit to Australia in mid-May in her capacity as UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change and Human Rights, contributing to national and international discussions on human rights, climate governance, and the energy transition.

Professor Elisa Morgera (UN Special Rapporteur on Climate Change and Human Rights) participated in the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Colombia, including in an event co-organized by the Colombian Ministers of Environment and of Agriculture to reflect on the synergies with the Second International Conference on Agrarian Reform held in Cartagena, Colombia, a month earlier. 

On Wednesday evening, the historic Durham Castle was the venue for the Centre for Sustainable Development Law & Policy’s annual COP30 debrief event. This annual highlight of the CSDLP calendar, began at 8pm in the Great Hall and brought together students, academics, members of the wider community and NGOs from around the world to reflect on the outcomes of COP30 in Belém.

Durham University's Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy (CSDLP) and the Centre for International Law (CIL) at the National University of Singapore, co-hosted a joint webinar last week on "The Road Ahead for Global Climate Action Post-COP30: A Cross-Regional Perspective".

We are pleased to share that the Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy (CSDLP) at Durham University has been invited to participate as an academic host institution for two prestigious international fellowship programmes coordinated by the UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea.