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Rights and equity

Exploitation of our people and planet has resulted in great inequalities with those who contribute the least to the deterioration of the environment bearing the brunt of its consequences. As the world looks to remedy and adapt to the triple crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, sustainability transitions are advanced without meaningful inclusion of local populations, despite formal commitments to rights protection, climate justice and development that leaves no one behind.

We provide empirical evidence and decision support to help governments and companies protect and respect human rights, affected social groups to claim their rights and researchers to intervene ethically in complex situations with conflicting values.

Together with our partners, we critically examine the underlying power structures that must be addressed to make decision-making processes transparent and inclusive. Through participatory and action-oriented research, policy dialogues and advisory work we shed light on the multiple and intersecting struggles faced by social groups and facilitate critical interventions to ensure equity and rights are respected.

We focus on Indigenous land use and rights, gender and social justice and equity in climate and water governance.

Indigenous land use and rights

Indigenous forms of land use and associated land rights are threatened by climate change as well as green transition objectives, globally and in the European North. Working together with reindeer herding communities and Sámi organizations, government agencies and industry – mining, forestry, hydropower and wind energy – we invite to critical dialogues concerning rights and responsibilities. Guided by critical social science and Indigenous scholarship, we seek to enhance mutual understanding in conflicts over land and resources, centering on the needs of those most affected.

Gender and social justice concerns are intrinsically linked to climate and environmental changes. Through policy-oriented research and strategic engagement at different levels – from communities to policymakers – we seek to better understand gendered and intersectional marginalization and contribute to environmental strategy processes. Our aim is to scrutinize power dynamics through feminist methodologies and frameworks, such as feminist political ecology and feminist standpoint theory.

Climate change and its solutions can affect groups and ecosystems differently, depending on overlapping vulnerabilities, power dynamics, and recognition of rights. These differences can often be a point of contention, especially in the context of water resources. We examine issues through equity-centered, rights-based and decolonizing approaches. We also elicit understandings of how climate justice is perceived by those directly concerned. We work together with government agencies, academia and affected industry and civil society representatives.

Rasmus Kløcker Larsen

Team Leader: Rights and Equity

SEI Headquarters

Annette Löf
Annette Löf

Senior Research Fellow

SEI Headquarters

Katarina Inga
Katarina Inga

Research Associate

SEI Headquarters

Laura Del Duca
Laura Del Duca

Research Associate

SEI Headquarters

Nella Canales
Nella Canales

Research Fellow

SEI Headquarters

Silvija Marcinkevičiūtė
Silvija Marcinkevičiūtė

Communications and Impact Officer

Communications

SEI Headquarters

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