We’re playing a pioneering role in helping cities respond to the challenges of climate change.

Professor Harriet Bulkeley, in our Department of Geography, looks at the role nature plays in urban sustainability and how cities are experimenting with nature to address climate change.

Professor Harriet Bulkeley

This includes innovative ways of introducing more plants and trees into towns and cities to capture carbon dioxide and improve wellbeing.

Professor Bulkeley co-ordinated the European NATURVATION project and was a member of the REINVENT project investigating climate solutions and decarbonisation in urban areas and industry.

Her work has directly influenced the governance of climate change on a global scale and has also impacted upon the UN-Habitat’s global guidelines in climate change and other key international organisations in influencing urban climate change policies.

Thanks to Professor Bulkeley's work, the way cities can respond to climate change is now an integral part of the international climate policy agenda.

Her research has identified multiple ways in which cities can govern climate change including designing effective policies and guidelines.

She has also co-authored the UN-Habitat’s Guiding Principles for City Climate Action Planning, and her research has been used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, International Energy Agency, the World Bank and other international organisations in urban climate change governance.

Read more about the impact Durham’s research is having on the world.