Sustainable Development

Researchers in this group focus on the practical challenges of implementing and delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly around the synergies and trade-offs between them.

Following broad international agreement on the SDGs and the Paris Agreement on climate change, consensus has formed around a new development agenda that recognises the interdependent nature of development: simply that economic growth, development and poverty reduction is are all linked and necessary for addressing global and local environmental challenges.

Members of this research group explore some of the most crucial aspects of delivery on this agenda, including climate-resilient development, the management of ecosystems, water and other natural resources, decision-making in uncertain circumstances, and the political economy of climate policy.

Research projects

Research

Insurance as a catalyst for using climate risk information for government planning and decision-making: A framework for analysing drivers and barriers, tested against evidence emerging from Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper from the UMFULA programme investigates the potential catalyst role of insurance in adaptation to climate change in a developing country context that is characterised by low insurance penetration and a relatively low level of government planning, analysing the problem from the perspective of insurers in South Africa, Malawi and Tanzania. read more »

Submission to Call for Evidence on Flooding and Coastal Erosion by Defra

This paper summarises the Institute's submission to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ call for evidence on policy direction to prepare the UK for flooding and coastal erosion, drawing on a decade of work by the Grantham Research Institute with the insurance industry and policymakers addressing issues around climate change and adaptation. read more »

Another lukewarmer promotes unscientific climate change denial in the ‘Daily Mail’

With Extinction Rebellion bringing parts of London to a standstill, right-wing national newspapers have been growing increasingly desperate in their attacks on the protests, while also giving more space to … read more »