ELEVATE ProClima Launch Event, April 2025

The British Academy held a launch event for the Evidence-informed Policymaking grants 2025 awards in May 2025. Professor Petra Minnerop and Dr Owen Boyle from Durham University, UK and Professor Caio Gracco Dias from the University of São Paulo, Brazil, attended the launch event. 

The team presented an overview of ELEVATE ProClima, the plans and ongoing research activities to other successful awardees, connecting with those working on similar themes. The British Academy shared key information around reporting and Grant administration to help ensure successful project delivery.

Gender Equality Workshop, May 2025

The Elevate ProClima teams held a Gender Equality Workshop, an interactive session between team members exploring key questions and issues surrounding gender equality. The discussions included exploring how gender is defined in different cultures, and looking at questions such as: what are the biggest challenges people of different genders currently face and how can we set out to achieve empowerment and transformative change in terms of gender through our research project?

These analytical discussions around gender equality were crucial in examining the underrepresentation of women at COPs, and for the analysis of the NDCs 3.0 for their gender-responsiveness. The GST urges Parties and stakeholders to join efforts to accelerate delivery through gender-responsive measures (GST, FCCC/PA/CMA/2023/16/Add.1). Yet, current NDCs 2.0 fail to provide interventions that could overcome the restricting effects of gender inequality in responding to climate initiatives. 

ELEVATE ProClima at COP30, November 2025

Prof Petra Minnerop, Dr Owen Boyle and Ghulam Mustafa Kamran attended COP30 as part of ELEVATE-ProClima project delivery. The project is split into three work packages, one of which specifically explores how the COP process can drive scientifically rigorous and gender-responsive policymaking at the international level. Additionally, the project explores how the outcomes of the first global stocktake are reflected in the nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that all countries have to publish as part of the Paris Agreement. The project proved to be extremely relevant at COP30 where the newly submitted NDC 3.0 and gender responsiveness both featured as key themes throughout the conference period.

ELEVATE-ProClima Workshop, June 2026

In June 2026, a project workshop was organised by Durham University and the University of São Paulo, with the support of the Coimbra Group and DG ENERG. The Brussels-based event provided a platform to advance the project’s objectives and disseminate findings to date through interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration.

Project researchers were joined by experts from the European Commission (DG ENER & DG RTD), Science Europe, the UNEP, the Coimbra Group and Uppsala University

Find out more here ELEVATE-ProClima Workshop - Durham University