The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has appointed the inaugural Dean of its flagship Global School of Sustainability, marking a meaningful expansion of the institution’s commitment to addressing the world’s most pressing environmental and social challenges. The new leadership role,situated at the intersection of research,policy and practice,is designed to position LSE as a central hub for shaping global debates on climate change,enduring development and just transitions. Bringing together expertise from across economics, political science, law and the social sciences, the Global School of Sustainability aims to equip the next generation of leaders with the analytical tools needed to navigate an era defined by ecological risk and systemic transformation.
LSE appoints inaugural dean to lead transformative vision for the Global School of Sustainability
With the appointment of its first-ever dean, the Global School of Sustainability enters a decisive phase in shaping how universities respond to climate change, social inequality and economic volatility. Drawing on a distinguished track record in policy innovation and cross-sector collaboration, the new leader will be tasked with integrating sustainability into every aspect of academic life, from research portfolios and teaching frameworks to campus operations and external partnerships. Their mandate combines intellectual leadership with institutional change-making, positioning the School as a bridge between cutting-edge scholarship and real-world implementation.
Under this leadership, the School will prioritise agile, problem-focused initiatives designed to equip students, researchers and practitioners with the tools to address complex global challenges. Early priorities include:
- Curriculum redesign to embed climate literacy and social impact across disciplines
- Policy labs connecting students with governments, NGOs and businesses
- Impact-driven research clusters focused on resilience, just transitions and green finance
- Global teaching networks linking classrooms in London with hubs in the Global South
| Focus Area | Key Outcome |
|---|---|
| Education | Interdisciplinary sustainability programmes |
| Research | Evidence-based solutions for policy and practice |
| Partnerships | Strategic alliances with global institutions |
Strategic priorities for integrating climate science policy and economics across LSE’s curriculum
Under the leadership of the new Dean, the Global School of Sustainability will pilot cross-departmental pathways that bring together empirical climate science, regulatory frameworks and real-world market dynamics. Core undergraduate and postgraduate courses in economics, law, public policy and management will be redesigned so that students routinely work with climate models, transition-risk scenarios and policy instruments such as carbon pricing and disclosure rules. This will include joint teaching teams drawn from multiple departments, co-created case studies with industry and policy partners, and a structured emphasis on climate literacy as a graduate attribute across all programmes.
To ensure this vision translates into practice, LSE will prioritise a set of curriculum design initiatives and metrics that track both academic rigour and societal impact:
- Embedded modules on climate risk, adaptation and just transition in core disciplinary courses.
- Practice-led studios where students design policy briefs and financial strategies for low‑carbon transitions.
- Data-driven learning using real climate and economic datasets in seminars and workshops.
- Interdisciplinary capstones jointly supervised by climate scientists, economists and policy scholars.
| Priority Area | Main Focus | Student Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Curriculum Reform | Climate across core courses | Integrated systems thinking |
| Methods & Data | Use of climate-economic models | Quantitative climate fluency |
| Policy & Practice | Real-world briefs and labs | Work-ready sustainability skills |
| Partnerships | Collaboration with governments and markets | Exposure to decision-making |
Building global partnerships to tackle sustainability challenges from the Global South to financial centres
From climate-vulnerable coastlines to the boardrooms of global financiers, the new Dean will spearhead alliances that link knowledge, capital and communities in new ways. Under their leadership, the Global School of Sustainability will broker collaborations between researchers, policymakers, impact investors and civic leaders, ensuring that insights generated in Lagos, São Paulo or Dhaka inform decisions taken in London, New York and other financial hubs. These partnerships will prioritise co-created research and mutual capacity-building, rejecting one-way models of development in favour of shared innovation, transparent data and context-specific solutions that can scale across regions.
- Joint research labs connecting Global South universities with LSE centres
- Policy fellowships for practitioners embedded in ministries and city governments
- Capital market dialogues with banks, asset managers and regulators
- Community-driven pilots to test financing tools on the ground
| Region | Key Focus | Financial Link |
|---|---|---|
| West Africa | Climate-resilient cities | Green municipal bonds |
| South Asia | Just energy transitions | Blended finance platforms |
| Latin America | Forest and land governance | Nature-linked instruments |
By mapping urgent sustainability priorities to innovative financial mechanisms, the School aims to influence how risk is priced, how portfolios are constructed and how success is measured in the global economy. The Dean will champion evidence-led engagement with stock exchanges, sovereign wealth funds and development banks, translating on-the-ground realities into concrete metrics and frameworks that shape investment mandates. In doing so, the institution seeks not only to elevate voices from the Global South, but to embed them at the center of a new financial commons where climate, equity and resilience are treated as core assets rather than externalities.
Recommendations for embedding sustainability in research teaching and campus operations at LSE
Under the leadership of the new Dean, LSE is setting out concrete steps to ensure that climate literacy and social justice are woven through every seminar, syllabus and studio. Academic departments across disciplines are being encouraged to co-design interdisciplinary modules, embed real-world case studies from cities, markets and communities most affected by environmental change, and expand problem-based learning in collaboration with NGOs, city authorities and industry partners. New incentives will support staff who rework curricula to foreground climate risk,biodiversity loss and just transitions,while students will be invited to participate as co-creators through curriculum advisory panels,policy labs and peer-led workshops. These initiatives aim to normalise sustainability as a core lens of analysis in economics, law, politics, data science and beyond, rather than treating it as a niche specialism.
- Research: Cross-departmental clusters on climate finance, green industrial strategy and environmental justice.
- Teaching: Baseline climate literacy outcomes for all undergraduates and postgraduates.
- Campus operations: Science-based targets for emissions, waste and biodiversity on campus.
- Partnerships: Long-term collaborations with London boroughs,global city networks and frontline communities.
| Area | 2026 Goal |
|---|---|
| Teaching | All degree programmes to include a core sustainability component |
| Research | At least 30% of projects to feature climate or environmental themes |
| Campus | 50% reduction in operational emissions from a 2018 baseline |
| Community | Every student to have access to a sustainability-focused civic engagement prospect |
To Conclude
As LSE’s Global School of Sustainability prepares to welcome its inaugural Dean, the institution is signalling more than a new appointment: it is staking a claim in the rapidly evolving landscape of climate and sustainability leadership. With a mandate that spans research, teaching and policy engagement, the new Dean will be tasked with turning ambition into institution-wide practice, shaping how future leaders understand and respond to global environmental challenges.
In the coming months, the School’s strategic direction, partnerships and academic offerings will begin to reflect this leadership at the helm.For LSE, long recognised for its influence on public policy and social science, the launch of the Global School of Sustainability under dedicated, high-level stewardship marks a pivotal step in weaving sustainability into the core of its mission.
