Our current lifestyle is not sustainable, and we know it. Our carbon-based economy causes climate change, and our livestock threatens the rainforests. We also know what we ought to do to save the planet: decarbonize the economy and change our diet. However, too many people lack the moral motivation to act on this knowledge. This is problematic for sustainability governance. Problem and solution are known, but we cannot get ourselves to do what we should do.

On 8 April 2022, researchers of the seed grant project on 'How to Finance Climate Change Policies' presented their work to the Leiden Political Economy Group (L-PEG) and GTGC's Economy and Ecology thematic areas during a research seminar. The title of the presentation was 'How to Finance Green Investments? The Role of Public Debt'.

What does it mean to do “global research”? Global studies is an emerging field that focuses on transboundary, international, and global processes and systems, such as climate change, global social media, and globalization. These issues call for researchers to think beyond conventional state actors or any individual disciplines. Global studies represent a holistic approach that aims to understand contemporary global issues from multi-disciplinary, multi-level, and interactive perspectives.

As part of the Paris Agreement, countries across the world agreed to support developing countries to invest in climate mitigation and adaptation through a Green Climate Fund. However, developed countries have failed to meet funding commitments for the Green Climate Fund–the flagship program financing Global South climate action.

On 8 April, Michael Sampson and Shiming Yang, from the new GTGC Seed Grant project 'Transformations in Global Climate Finance' presented on their research set-up and engaged in a discussion with the audience.