The Environmental Change Institute (ECI) is delighted to have been selected for funding from the Askehave Climate Foundation to launch a major new research initiative: the Oxford University Centre for Research on Climate Leadership.
This four-year, impact-oriented project will investigate how leaders across politics, business, and sport can play a vital role in driving climate action. By acting and advocating on climate change, leaders can normalise low-carbon behaviours, inspire their followers, and build greater public support for the systemic changes needed to cut emissions.
The ECI team is led by Dr Tina Fawcett, with Dr Sam Hampton and Dr Emilie Vrain, bringing their combined experience in behaviour change, energy demand, and innovation adoption and building on their previous work into how individuals, organisations and communities engage with climate action. They are working in collaboration with Dr Steve Westlake at the University of Bath, whose pioneering work has highlighted the importance of politicians leading by example on climate.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer travelling to a fabric shop in West Yorkshire following an announcement to deliver rail investment in the North of England.
This project will be delivered in partnership with Climate Outreach and Climate Change Coaches, experts in guiding and supporting climate change leadership. Together, the team will work with influential leaders to understand their motivations and barriers, design tailored strategies to empower them, and test how leadership can ripple out to wider society.
The initiative also aims to lay the groundwork for a long-term centre of excellence in climate leadership research at Oxford.
Dr Fawcett said:
Our vision is that every leader, in whatever field they work, has the knowledge and confidence to lead on climate. With this project we can begin to build the evidence and tools to make that a reality."
You can read more about the Foundation’s 2025 funding announcement, and why the ECI project was chosen, on the Askehave Climate Foundation website: Where should our leaders lead us?
Get in touch if you would like to know more, nominate a climate leader, or become involved in the research.