The relationship between legal and economic interventions for effective climate adaptation strategies

Overview

This is an opportunity for a person from an underrepresented group to undertake a fully funded masters degree followed by a fully funded interdisciplinary PhD under the ‘Sustainable Transitions – Leverhulme Doctoral Training Programme’ at the University of Essex.

Only UK domiciled applicants who meet the following criteria may apply:

• Not already have a Master’s degree
• Be from a low-income household background as evidenced by, for example, being in receipt of a full maintenance loan or Special Support loan during their undergraduate studies.

and/or

Be one of the following categories of ethnicity:

• Black African
• Black Caribbean
• Black Other
• Mixed – White and Black Caribbean
• Mixed – White and Black African
• Other mixed background (including Black African, Black Caribbean and Black Other)

The successful applicant would study an appropriate masters degree, such as:

• LLM Law, Environment and Sustainability
• LLM International Law
• LLM International Human Rights Law

The subsequent PhD project would focus on the relationship between legal and economic interventions concerning climate change adaptation. Owing to the recognition that many countries and communities are needing to adapt rapidly to climate related events such as storms, flooding, sea-level rise, desertification, drought and crop failure there is now much greater pressure for legal and policy interventions.

Many countries have framework laws that provide for adaptation but there are significant gaps in areas relating to financing, investment and infrastructure development. This means that there is an urgent need for more research relating to the law and policy that would contribute to effective climate change mitigation in that space. This project would undertake analysis in this field to contribute to the provision of practical and effective solutions. 

Interdisciplinary focus

The interdisciplinarity of this project lies at researching the interface between the development of law that is required to respond adequately to climate change adaptation and the economic requirement to invest in appropriate responses. This means that the project will involve legal analysis combined with analysis of a variety of different types of adaptation mechanisms such as investment, financial and governance strategies that can be employed, but which require legal frameworks to function effectively. 

Training and support

You will receive support through the Sustainable Transitions training program, which offers interdisciplinary research methods, secondary discipline training, and ongoing development. Doctoral scholars also have access to £2,500 through Proficio for training courses and £10,000 for research and additional training. You may audit relevant courses and will be supported by both the Sustainable Transitions management and your supervisory team.

Additionally, all scholars join the University of Essex’s Centre for Environment and Society, providing events and networking opportunities. 

Person specification

This opportunity would suit a candidate with a degree/ background in law and the successful candidate will be expected to develop their knowledge of international environmental law. It is not necessary for the candidate to have prior training in development studies, government, business or economics as any relevant training will be provided on the programme in accordance with the specific focus of the project.

Research proposal

The project area is broadly defined, leaving scope for the applicant to develop their own specific research proposal as part of the application. The successful candidate will further develop their proposal in close consultation with the supervisory team.

Supervision

The primary discipline supervisor takes the lead responsibility for supervising the project. For further detail relating to supervision see the Guidance for Applicants (.docx) document.

Additional background information

The world is experiencing unprecedented climate change at an accelerating pace creating significant risks to human well-being. Developing countries are particularly vulnerable, facing more frequent and severe climate-related events that exacerbate existing socioeconomic challenges, sometimes threatening survival itself.

A key global challenge lies in the historical focus on climate change mitigation—reducing greenhouse gas emissions—rather than adaptation, which involves adjusting to the unavoidable consequences of a changing climate. Although Article 4 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change calls for states to cooperate in adaptation efforts, the international community has only recently begun to prioritize adaptation, driven by the growing severity and frequency of climate events.

Communities at local, national, and international levels face complex, interconnected challenges. For instance, many developing countries lack the financial resources, infrastructure, and technological capabilities needed for effective adaptation. Vulnerable populations in coastal and agricultural regions are particularly at risk, with limited access to support systems to help them cope with environmental changes. There is a global need for innovative legal frameworks that integrate adaptation into economic and social policies, thereby ensuring protection for the most at-risk communities.

At national levels many countries now have framework laws that relate to climate change adaptation. Whilst many of these laws and policies include adaptation plans, information generation, and plans relating to early warning systems, there are significant gaps in provision. In particular there are gaps in relation to the law and policy that is required to generate and implement the economic and investment incentives to facilitate effective adaptation solutions. Evidence suggests that economic incentives have the potential to accelerate adaptation behaviour but more work is required to understand how instruments such as those related to risk financing, subsidies, insurance, and green bonds can be used and how the associated law could be developed accordingly.

This interdisciplinary research project will tackle this challenge. It will take into account international climate law and policy,  the development of framework laws at national levels and consider how the law could be further developed where it interfaces with economic interventions. It will focus on more effective climate change adaptation strategies and how they can ultimately contribute to climate resilience.

The scholarship provides an opportunity for the candidate to refine their research proposal during their LLM studies through academic coursework and a dissertation. This research not only aims to contribute to academic literature but also has the potential to influence future climate adaptation policies, shaping legal and policy frameworks essential for societies worldwide to adapt to the ongoing challenges posed by climate change.

How to Apply

Full details available at Sustainable Transitions Leverhulme Doctoral Training Programme.

Supervisory team references

1. Stephen J. Turner, ‘A Global Environmental Right’ Earthscan by Routledge (2014)
2. Stephen J. Turner, ‘A Substantive Environmental Right’ Kluwer Law International (2009)
3. Stephen J. Turner,  (2017) ‘The Use of ‘Macro’ Legal Analysis in the Understanding and Development of Global Environmental Governance’  Transnational Environmental Law. 6 (2), 237-257
4. Erdodu, Arun and Habib (2018) Handbook of Research on Green Economic Development Initiatives and Strategies - Practice, Progress, and Proficiency in Sustainability (Hardback), IGI Global, ISBN: 9781522504405
5. Upadhaya, Jayasinghe, Adhikari, Wijethilake and Arun (2023) "People participation is a must in climate programs", World Bank Blog