New endowed professorship for climate law
Promoting legal innovation and developing new approaches to effectively combat climate change: This, in addition to teaching and research, is the goal of the new endowed professorship for climate law. The Bloom Foundation will support the establishment of this professorship for a period of ten years.
Legal systems govern how society functions and coexists, both nationally and internationally. They also shape individual behaviour. For that reason, climate law plays a crucial role in climate protection. However, there is currently a lack of legal expertise needed to use climate law to create reliable and equitable frameworks for addressing climate change. The endowed professorship “Climate and Law” at the University of Bern aims to help close these gaps. The professorship will be based at the Institute of Public Law within the Faculty of Law and affiliated with the Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR) at the University of Bern.
The goal is to build strong expertise in climate protection law - both within Switzerland and in international and interdisciplinary contexts. Such comprehensive legal competence is essential to address the pressing challenges associated with climate protection. The knowledge developed through this new professorship will be relevant for future legislation and will also serve as legal expertise in court proceedings. Until now, Switzerland has lacked a dedicated academic focus on climate law in both research and teaching. A successful and exemplary model in this area is Oxford University's “Sustainable Law Programme”.
Interdisciplinary collaboration provides ideal conditions
“The demand for legal solutions is growing as traditional legal interests - such as human health, public infrastructure, property, and the natural environment - are increasingly threatened by climate change,” says Virginia Richter, Rector of the University of Bern. “We are proud to lay foundational work in this area with the Bloom Foundation's support through the new endowed professorship”. According to the Rector, the interdisciplinary orientation of the Oeschger Centre makes it ideally suited for building expertise in climate law. The case of Senior Women for Climate Protection before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), in which an OCCR research team provided the court with scientific grounds and legal advice, demonstrated how the OCCR's different research areas work together in the context of a climate lawsuit.
Founded in 2024, the Bloom Foundation is dedicated to promoting forward-thinking approaches for a healthy, biodiverse, and regenerative world. It is particularly committed to supporting projects that research and implement effective solutions for climate protection and the preservation of biodiversity. “From our perspective, the further development of climate law is a key lever for advancing effective climate action,” says Ines Najorka, President of the Bloom Foundation. “With the University of Bern and the Oeschger Centre, we have found strong partners and a promising environment for the work of the endowed professorship.”
The endowed professorship is to be advertised nationally and internationally. The appointment is scheduled for spring 2026.
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change ResearchThe Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR) is one of the strategic centres of the University of Bern. It brings together researchers from 14 institutes and four faculties. The OCCR conducts interdisciplinary research at the cutting edge of climate science. The Oeschger Centre was founded in 2007 and is named after Hans Oeschger (1927-1998), a pioneer of modern climate research who worked in Bern. |
Institute for Public LawThe Institute of Public Law covers the full spectrum of public law in its teaching, research, and service activities. Its special areas of focus include fundamental and human rights, constitutional law, general and specialized administrative law, public procedural law, and international law. |
2025/06/11
