Three ongoing research areas at LUCSUS will be highlighted at side events at the COP: immobility in climate adaptation, environmental human right defenders in the Amazon and inner-outer transformation for climate action. The associated projects: ITACHA (Immobility in a Changing Climate); Environmental Human Right Defenders; TransVision; Mind4Change; and ALIGN are led by Professor Emily Boyd, Associate Professor Torsten Krause, and Professor Christine Wamsler respectively.
Emily Boyd will present ITHACA’ recent results at the panel:
Rootedness Despite Uncertainty: Immobility in a Changing Climate,
Date and time: Thursday, 13th November, 9:00–10:30 local time.
This side event explores why people stay despite escalating climate extremes. It brings attention to communities who are unable or unwilling to move, challenging mobility biases in adaptation policy. The discussion asks how climate finance can advance justice, dignity, and resilience for those who remain in exposed regions.
Drawing on new findings from the Belmont Forum–funded project ITHACA (Immobility in a Changing Climate), the event presents case studies from Ghana, Amazonia, and other climate-vulnerable regions, revealing the complexity of mobility decisions and the differentiated, intersectional effects of immobility- particularly along gender and social lines.
The panel will discuss how policy and practice can respond to and build on the innovations emerging from immobility research, ensuring that those who stay are recognized and supported in climate adaptation and finance agendas.
Read more about the event and register on the event page
Read more about the research in Lund University Research Portal
Torsten Krause’s research on environmental human right defenders in the Amazon will be presented by Lund University colleague Fariborz Zelli at an event entitled:
The Need to Recognise Environmental Defenders in the UNFCCC Process: Voices from Latin America.
Date and time: Friday, 14 November, 16.45-18.15 local time.
This side event will discuss: (1) the role of environmental defenders in climate action, biocultural diversity and human rights protection in Colombia, Peru and beyond; (2) challenges they face including mining, floods, forest fires, drought or carbon piracy; and (3) gaps of their recognition in the UNFCCC process.
Read more about the event on the blog connected to the research project
Read more about the project in Lund University Research Portal
Christine Wamsler will join COP30 online, presenting her research on inner-outer transformation for climate actions at the event:
Transforming Higher Education for Climate Action: Integrating Inner-Outer Transformation for Climate Action Through Expanded Knowledge Systems
Date and time: Monday, November 17, 13:00-14:15 (local time).
This session showcases how higher education (HEI) can powerfully drive climate action by integrating inner-outer transformation into education, research, innovation, community engagement, and institutional leadership. When HEI embrace transdisciplinary approaches that weave together diverse knowledge systems—Indigenous wisdom, contemplative practices, scientific knowledge, and lived experience—institutions generate more effective climate solutions. Using frameworks like the Inner Development Goals, higher education cultivates transformative capacities (compassion, systems thinking, perspective-taking) that enable deep commitment to sustainability.
Speakers present concrete examples demonstrating how transdisciplinary collaboration, expanded epistemologies, contemplative practices, and policy integration unlock latent human potential for change, addressing both root causes and outer manifestations of climate crisis.
Read more about TransVision and Mind4Change and ALIGN - Embedding Inner Student-Centered Exploration and Development in Higher Education in Lund University Research Portal.
