JusTN0W Executive Summary

The findings of the first global stocktake (concluded in 2023) under the Paris Agreement reveal that the world is failing to find the just transition pathways to avoid the worst impacts of climate change (IPCC AR6 SYR 2023, UN NDC SYR 2023). While countries have confirmed ‘sustainable and just solutions to the climate crisis must be founded on meaningful and effective social dialogue and participation of all stakeholders, including Indigenous Peoples, local communities and governments, women, and youth and children’ the country-specific pathways that enable a ‘global transition to low emissions and climate-resilient development’ and foster sustainable development and poverty eradication are yet to be established (Decision 1/CMA.5, Outcome of the Global Stocktake).

At Durham University, we already have world-leading expertise in researching the causes and impacts of climate change. Through international collaboration and research, we review comparative approaches and develop international best practice in implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for fair solutions to the complex issues of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation.  In particular, Durham University has invested in collaborative and interdisciplinary research capacity at the intersection of SDGs 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 13, 16 and 17 through the flagship initiative Just Transitions to a Net Zero World (JusTN0W) of the Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy (CSDLP).

JusTN0W represents a unique opportunity for our academic community to make a meaningful impact on the SDGs. The CSDLP has already brought together research expertise across disciplines and integrated it into global governance frameworks. JusTN0W is led by four Principal Investigators, from Law, Economics, Biosciences and Computer Science, with many more departments across the University contributing to it as Co-Investigators. The significant investment of Durham University in JusTN0W through the Strategic Research Fund enables us to work with more partners and more countries to support their transition pathways and to tackle the global scale, depth, and complexity of the UN’s Just Transition Work Programme.

In 2024, we have significantly expanded our team through new recruitment while also increasing the number of our collaborative research projects and partners, where we actively work with multiple international partners from different backgrounds, academic disciplines, and with NGOs and government stakeholders. Within the JusTN0W Team, we are implementing a world-leading interdisciplinary work programme that helps us to identify best practices for the implementation of all SDGs as societies transition to sustainable lifestyles. Our programme comprises four main strands and several sub-projects, to research solutions and pathways for the accelerated decarbonisation of economies, and to achieve lasting societal well-being for the present and future generations.

Our work with partners such as REINKEI, the COIMBRA and the Matariki networks, as well as our engagement at Conferences of the Parties (COPs) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), continuously fosters new international relations and aligns with the SDGs. Our team was actively involved in the drafting of the Durham Declaration on Climate Change and Sustainability to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the COIMBRA network. For 40 years, the COIMBRA network of European Universities has acted as a dynamic forum for cooperation and strategic reflection, and it has strengthened academic and cultural ties, education, research, innovation, and service to society, with European and international institutions. Durham University, as a member of this and other networks, actively engages with UN and EU policies and programmes.

In addition, participating in yearly UNFCCC COPs is central to our international engagement, and it is led and organised by the COP Steering group, which is part of the Centre for Sustainable Development Law and Policy. Durham University gained observer status to UNFCCC COPs at COP26 in Glasgow, in 2021. At these international conferences, we regularly convene major UNFCCC official side events and collaborate with our partners to make a difference by sharing and discussing research with others.