Staff profile

Dr Kim Bouwer joined Durham in 2021 and is an Associate Professor in the Law School. Prior to this she held posts or visiting positions at a variety of global institutions, including the LSE, UCL, the European University Institute, the University of the Witwatersrand, and KCL.  Kim is also a dual qualified practitioner, and before her doctoral research worked as a public interest lawyer, representing claimants in cases involving police violence, industrial disease, and environmental justice.  She holds a PhD from UCL and completed her undergraduate education at the University of the Witwatersrand. 

Kim specialises in climate change and environmental law, and private law.  She has published widely in these fields in leading journals including Legal Studies, the Journal of Environmental Law, the Journal of Human Rights and Environment, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, and Nature Sustainability.  She has also been the UK Rapporteur for the British Institute for International and Comparative Law on their Global Perspectives on Corporate Climate Legal Tactics project. Kim is currently Principal Investigator on a three-year Leverhulme Trust Research Grant Project examining everyday climate litigation.

Kim is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and was shortlisted as a finalist for Law Teacher of the Year at the Northern Law Awards (2024-25).

Research

Kim's research examines how law responds to climate change.  Her main area of interest is in climate litigation.  She previously led a five-year collaborative project culminating in Climate Litigation and Justice in Africa (Bristol University Press, 2024), the first comprehensive study of climate litigation on the continent. This work has been endorsed by the African Climate Foundation and is being used by to influence litigation strategy on the continent.  Kim has also worked extensively in the use of private law mechanisms in the climate context.  This includes a collaboration with the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, where she produced a lengthy report on corporate climate litigation in the English courts.  This contributed to a broader comparative project run by BIICL.

Kim is currently (2025-28) Principal Investigator on 'A study of everyday climate litigation: examining law in the climate context', funded by a Leverhulme Research Project Grant. This three-year project investigates mundane legal disputes and their implications, in the context of climate change.

Kim is also co-investigator on a project examining the legal basis for equity in the global fossil fuel phase-out, developing principle-based frameworks for equitable energy transitions. A first publication in the International and Comparative Law Quarterly explores the legal basis for equity in international law.

She is a member of Law and Global Justice at Durham, the Human Rights and Public Law Centre, and the Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy, and a Fellow of the Durham Energy Institute. 

Citizenship

Dr Bouwer conceived, designed, and leads the implementation of Durham's climate education mainstreaming project, which draws directly on her research in climate consciousness in daily life. This initiative integrates climate change education across all core compulsory modules, ensuring every Durham law student graduates with foundational understanding of climate law and policy.  She has also led research centres and contributed to curriculum review in the Law School. 

Kim is a Fellow of Durham Energy Institute and has contributed to the profile and leadership of the DEI.  From 2024-25 she was a DEI Co-Director for Policy and Regulation, seeking to enhance the DEI’s policy impact and strengths and awareness in policy and regulation.  Prior to this she was the Fellows' Representative (2023-24), strengthening relations between the Institute and its Fellows. 

Kim makes substantial contributions to the wider academy and legal profession. She holds three journal editorial board positions and serves on three funding panels.  Kim engages regularly in knowledge exchange through invited presentations to academic, practitioner, and judicial audiences, including training for judges on corporate climate litigation and panel discussions at leading institutions. She conducts peer review for major journals and publishers.

Teaching

Dr Bouwer will be on grant and university funded research leave until September 2028.  When not on research leave, she convenes and contributes lectures and seminars on the undergraduate Tort course. At Durham, has also convened and co-taught Global Environmental Law, Energy Law and Climate Change Law at Masters level, and supervises research at undergraduate and postgraduate level.  Kim was shortlisted as one of three finalists for Law Teacher of the Year at the Northern Law Awards (2024-25).

Since 2022, Kim has led a climate education mainstreaming project which represents a transformational curriculum innovation.  She has published work about this project and also received invitations to speak about it, including to the Committee of Heads of Law Schools in 2023. 

Kim is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice from the University of Exeter. 

Selected Grants, Fellowships and Awards / Nominations

2025 Leverhulme Research Project Grant (everyday climate litigation), £183,036

2025 Finalist: Law Teacher of the Year, Northern Law Awards

2024 Fellow, Durham Institute for Advanced Study

2024 Durham Centre for Academic Development Collaborative Innovation Grant, £4,690

2024 Durham IAS Research Development Grant (Fossil Fuels Project), £1,460

2023 Visiting Senior Fellow, Grantham Centre, London School of Economics

2023 Association of Commonwealth Universities Climate Futures, £5,000

2023 Donor (Climate Litigation in Africa), £13,000

2022 Fellow, Durham Energy Institute 

2021 University of Exeter Dean's Commendation

2021 Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

2021 Society of Legal Scholars Law School and the Climate Crisis Funding (Climate Change Mainstreaming), £750

2019 Modern Law Review Small Grant (Climate Litigation in Africa) £5,000

2019 Visiting Fellow, EUI Law, Florence

2018 Max Weber Fellow, EUI, Florence 

2017 Shortlist: Kings’ College London Teaching Excellence Award, Rising Star

2012 EPSRC Research Studentship, UCL

Book review

• Rebecca Williams, Climate Change, Cattle, and the International Legal Order, Hart Publishing, 2024, ISBN: 9781509968596, Ebook, £61.20, 232 pp
  
  Bouwer, K. (in press). Rebecca Williams, Climate Change, Cattle, and the International Legal Order, Hart Publishing, 2024, ISBN: 9781509968596, Ebook, £61.20, 232 pp. Climate Law.
• Climate change litigation: Global perspectives By Ivano Alogna, Christine Bakker, Jean‐Pierre Gauci (Eds.), Brill. 2021. pp. 542.
  
  Bouwer, K. (2023). Climate change litigation: Global perspectives By Ivano Alogna, Christine Bakker, Jean‐Pierre Gauci (Eds.), Brill. 2021. pp. 542. Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law, 32(3), 507-508. https://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12519
• Climate Change Litigation in the Asia Pacific, Edited by Jolene Lin and Douglas A. Kysar Published by Cambridge University Press, 2020
  
  Bouwer, K. (2022). Climate Change Litigation in the Asia Pacific, Edited by Jolene Lin and Douglas A. Kysar Published by Cambridge University Press, 2020. Review of European, Comparative and International Environmental Law, 31(1), 150-152. https://doi.org/10.1111/reel.12435

Chapter in book

• United Kingdom
  
  Bouwer, K. (in press). United Kingdom. In D. Kysar & E. Lim (Eds.), Oxford Handbook on Climate Change and Private Law. Oxford University Press.
• Paris Climate Agreement
  
  Bouwer, K. (in press). Paris Climate Agreement. In Encyclopedia of Global Justice. Springer.
• Integrating climate change education in an English Law School
  
  Bouwer, K. (2026). Integrating climate change education in an English Law School. In R. Grimes, S. Levett, R. Samaras, & R. Williams (Eds.), Teaching and Learning Climate and Environmental Justice in Law Schools: Global Perspectives on Transforming the Curriculum. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003505006-21
• Africa, Climate Justice and the Role of the Courts
  
  Bouwer, K., Etemire, U., Field, T., & Jegede, A. (2024). Africa, Climate Justice and the Role of the Courts. In K. Bouwer, U. Etemire, T. Field, & A. Jegede (Eds.), Climate Litigation and Justice in Africa (pp. 1-14). Bristol University Press. https://doi.org/10.56687/9781529228977-005
• Provoking McAuslan: Planning Law and Property Rights
  
  Bouwer, K., & Gimson, R. (2022). Provoking McAuslan: Planning Law and Property Rights. In M. Lee & C. Abbot (Eds.), Taking English Planning Law Scholarship Seriously. UCL Press.
• Climate Change and the Individual in the United Kingdom
  
  Bouwer, K. (2021). Climate Change and the Individual in the United Kingdom. In F. Sindico & M. M. Mbengue (Eds.), Comparative Climate Change Litigation: Beyond the Usual Suspects. Springer Verlag.
• Equity and justice in climate change law and policy: A role for benefit-sharing
  
  Savaresi, A., & Bouwer, K. (2018). Equity and justice in climate change law and policy: A role for benefit-sharing. In T. Jafry, M. Mikulewicz, & K. Helwig (Eds.), Routledge Handbook of Climate Justice. Routledge.

Edited book

• Climate Litigation and Justice in Africa
  
  Bouwer, K., Etemire, U., Field, T., & Jegede, A. (Eds.). (2024). Climate Litigation and Justice in Africa. Bristol University Press. https://doi.org/10.56687/9781529228977
• Special Issue: The Emergence of Climate Litigation in Africa
  
  Bouwer, K., & Field, T. (Eds.). (2021). Special Issue: The Emergence of Climate Litigation in Africa. Lexxion.

Journal Article

• Towards a Principle-based Framework for an Equitable Global Fossil Fuel Phase-out
  
  Bouwer, K., Shapovalova, D., & Fermeglia, M. (in press). Towards a Principle-based Framework for an Equitable Global Fossil Fuel Phase-out. International and Comparative Law Quarterly.
• Conceptualising Just Transition Litigation
  
  Savaresi, A., Setzer, J., Bookman, S., Bouwer, K., Chan, T., Keuschnigg, I., Armeni, C., Harrington, A., Heri, C., Higham, I., Hilson, C., Luporini, R., Macchi, C., Nordlander, L., Obani, P., Peterson, L., Schapper, A., Singh Ghaleigh, N., Tigre, M. A., & Wewerinke-Singh, M. (2024). Conceptualising Just Transition Litigation. Nature Sustainability, 7, 1379-1384. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01439-y
• ‘Climate Change isn’t Optional’: Climate Change in the Core Law Curriculum
  
  Bouwer, K., John, E., Luke, O., & Rozhan, N. A. (2023). ‘Climate Change isn’t Optional’: Climate Change in the Core Law Curriculum. Legal Studies, 43(2), 240-258. https://doi.org/10.1017/lst.2022.35
• The Influence of Human Rights on Climate Litigation in Africa
  
  Bouwer, K. (2022). The Influence of Human Rights on Climate Litigation in Africa. Journal of Human Rights and the Environment, 13(1), 157-177. https://doi.org/10.4337/jhre.2022.01.07
• Substantial Justice?: Transnational Torts as Climate Litigation
  
  Bouwer, K. (2021). Substantial Justice?: Transnational Torts as Climate Litigation. Carbon & Climate Law Review, 15(2), 188-203. https://doi.org/10.21552/cclr/2021/2/9
• The Emergence of Climate Litigation in Africa
  
  Bouwer, K., & Field, T. (2021). The Emergence of Climate Litigation in Africa. Carbon and Climate Law Review, 15(2), 123-128. https://doi.org/10.21552/cclr/2021/2/3
• Possibilities for Justice and Equity in Human Rights and Climate Law: Benefit-Sharing in Climate Finance
  
  Bouwer, K. (2021). Possibilities for Justice and Equity in Human Rights and Climate Law: Benefit-Sharing in Climate Finance. Climate Law, 11(1), 1-44. https://doi.org/10.1163/18786561-11010001
• Lessons from a Distorted Metaphor: The Holy Grail of Climate Litigation
  
  Bouwer, K. (2020). Lessons from a Distorted Metaphor: The Holy Grail of Climate Litigation. Transnational Environmental Law, 9(2), 347-378.
• Insights for Climate Technology Transfer from International Environmental and Human Rights Law
  
  Bouwer, K. (2018). Insights for Climate Technology Transfer from International Environmental and Human Rights Law. Journal of Intellectual Property Rights, 23(1).
• The Unsexy Future of Climate Change Litigation
  
  Bouwer, K. (2018). The Unsexy Future of Climate Change Litigation. Journal of Environmental Law, 30(3). https://doi.org/10.1093/jel/eqy017
• When gist is mist: mismatches in small-scale climatechange litigation
  
  Bouwer, K. (2015). When gist is mist: mismatches in small-scale climatechange litigation. Environmental Law & Management, 27(1), 11-20.

Other (Digital/Visual Media)

• Climate Litigation and Climate Activism
  
  Bouwer, K. (2022, May 3). Climate Litigation and Climate Activism [Video].
• Net Zero Rule of Law: Climate Consciousness and Legal Education
  
  Bouwer, K. (2022). Net Zero Rule of Law: Climate Consciousness and Legal Education [Blog].
• Climate consciousness in daily legal practice
  
  Bouwer, K. (2015). Climate consciousness in daily legal practice [Blog].

Report

• Global Perspectives on Corporate Climate Legal Tactics: UK National Report
  
  Bouwer, K. (2024). Global Perspectives on Corporate Climate Legal Tactics: UK National Report. British Institute of International and Comparative Law.
• Climate Education in the Core at Durham Law School
  
  Bouwer, K., Allen, T., Buck, J., Frantziou, E., Neuvonen, P., Sakharova, I., & Wang, Y. (2023). Climate Education in the Core at Durham Law School.
• Climate Litigation as Climate Activism: What Works?
  
  Bouwer, K., & Setzer, J. (2020). Climate Litigation as Climate Activism: What Works? British Academy.