The University of Reading has been awarded a £1 million grant by the Leverhulme Trust Doctoral Scholarships Programme to support a new doctoral training programme in Climate Justice: Ethics, Politics, and Law.  The Leverhulme Trust is one of the largest all-subject providers of grants and scholarships for research and education in the UK, distributing approximately £80 million a year.

Climate change is a global threat.  Scientists are beginning to understand the cause and likely environmental effect of climate change, whereas social scientists and philosophers are addressing the political, ethical and legal challenges of climate change.  This new interdisciplinary programme will bring together researchers from a range of backgrounds; economics, geography, law, meteorology, philosophy and politics and international relations to understand, research and inform both the scientific and justice aspects of climate change.

This programme will train 15 doctoral researchers over three years to become experts in the scientific, justice and ethical issues surrounding climate change.  The research from the programme will lead to the establishment of a new Research Centre for Climate and Justice.  It is envisioned that these students and subsequent post-doctoral researchers will go on to develop and inform new just climate change policies.

The first five Leverhulme doctoral research scholarships will start their PhD research in Reading in October 2015.  Applications for the scholarship competition are open until 27 March.  Further details and information on how to apply can be found at: www.reading.ac.uk/gs-funding-opportunities.aspx