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Connecting with Global Climate Policy

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10th Anniversary
Blog
Date
Debbie Rosen, Policy Impact Lead, Priestley Centre
Debbie Rosen, Priestley Centre's Policy Impact Lead

The Priestley Centre and the UNFCCC

From its inception, the Priestley Centre for Climate Futures has recognised that our world‑leading climate research can inform real-world decision making.  Throughout the past decade, that conviction has guided our efforts to engage with international climate policy, amplifying our voice in this critical decade for the planet.   

When the Priestley Centre was established in 2016, the world had just experienced a landmark event:  the Paris Agreement, adopted at COP21 (Conference of the Parties) in December 2015, had created a new global framework for climate action and the mood was one of mutual optimism. 

Yet translating the ambitions and commitments forged in Paris has proved increasingly complex, particularly in today’s geopolitical context.   

We have continuously reflected on how we can contribute to meeting that challenge, working with both our own community and external partners.    

Engaging with UNFCCC processes 

 The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the primary, near-universal framework for global climate policy and action.  

The University of Leeds has UNFCCC observer status - an official accreditation that allows us to participate in UN climate change processes and conferences.  

Historically, the University’s engagement with the UN climate regime was relatively fragmented. There was a wealth of expertise across campus, but it was driven by individual researchers rather than institutional strategy. 

 COP26 in Glasgow in 2021 marked a turning point. A major climate summit was taking place on UK soil, and its accessibility and high profile saw interest in the UNFCCC and COPs skyrocket across the University.  

The Priestley Centre saw an opportunity to provide structure and strategy, bringing our interdisciplinary community into dialogue with the policymakers, negotiators, civil society and international organisations involved in the UNFCCC regime. 

A COP26 Task Force was formed to coordinate activities and make the most of our UNFCCC observer status, ensuring that the University sent a wide and varied delegation to the summit, involved in events and activities across the COP26 fortnight.   

For Priestley, COP26 really highlighted the opportunities we have to contribute to the international climate policy process.  But since COP26, we have seen the continued growth of misinformation and disinformation around climate change as well attempts from vested interests to pushback on and stall climate action within the negotiations themselves.   

As a result, the need for credible evidence has also grown. Priestley’s work has evolved alongside this shift, responding to emerging policy needs and helping to anticipate the next generation of challenges. 

The UNFCCC Taskforce: coordinating impact 

Following COP26 in 2021, the Taskforce transitioned to a broader UNFCCC perspective, recognising that COP summits are just one moment in the UN climate cycle (albeit the major one) and that there are the numerous and varied opportunities to feed into the UN climate process across the year. 

The Taskforce now provides a focal point for the University’s engagement with the UNFCCC, helping colleagues to navigate processes, align research outputs with policy windows, and contribute to the meetings and events taking place under the UNFCCC umbrella. Crucially, it has enabled a more consistent and strategic presence within the UNFCCC space year‑on‑year. 

Sustained presence in the UNFCCC space 

Priestley colleagues now engage regularly with UNFCCC meetings in Bonn (where UNFCCC HQ is based) as well as annual COP summits around the world. This engagement has taken many forms: contributing to official events, briefing negotiators, sharing new research with international partners, and supporting civil society dialogues.  At the most recent COP in Brazil, our community was involved in issues ranging from youth engagement through food systems and finance to updates on greenhouse gas emissions and the impact they are having on the climate system.   

These moments have also provided the Task Force with insights into the realities facing climate policymakers and practitioners, which in turn are shaping future research questions and impact plans. 

Indicators of Global Climate Change: an evidence base for policy 

One of Priestley’s flagship contributions to the international climate policy process is the Indicators of Global Climate Change (IGCC) initiative. IGCC provides rapid, robust updates on the key indicators of climate change most used by policymakers, such as greenhouse gas emissions and levels of human-caused warming. 

Led by the Priestley Centre Director, IGCC’s rationale is simple but powerful: effective climate policy depends on credible evidence about where we are and how fast we are moving – and unfortunately IGCC has continually shown that we are rapidly moving in the wrong direction.  

IGCC’s findings are launched at the UNFCCC’s Bonn Climate Conference in June each year to inform discussions in the run up to that year’s COP summit. They have also been tabled at high‑level policy discussions taking place within the UNFCCC space, demonstrating the demand for clear, consistent evidence that supports accountability and ambition.  

Looking ahead: deepening impact through collaboration 

As the next decade unfolds, the need for strong engagement between science and global climate policy will continue to grow, requiring not just evidence, but research that is tailored to regional contexts and can be directly taken up by policymakers.  

One recent example is the work Priestley has delivered on translating global climate commitments into credible, science-based delivery pathways, presented at April’s First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels (TAFF) in Santa Marta, Colombia. 

Priestley is well-placed to deliver.  We are strengthening partnerships with international organisations and networks, supporting early career researchers to engage with international climate policy, and continuing to innovate on how our research is communicated and used.  

Ten years on, Priestley’s progress demonstrates what is possible when our community comes together.  It also reinforces the need for collaboration if we are to rise to the challenges that the Paris Agreement presented us with a decade ago. 

Calls to action: