News

20 January 2025 - CISL has released its yearly impact report, looking back on a pivotal year for the institute and the sustainability movement more widely. Read the full report2024 was a challenging and pivotal year for CISL and the wider sustainability movement. Action taken across the world is not keeping up with the challenges that are being thr…

2 December 2024 – The University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership today announces that Lindsay Hooper has been appointed as its permanent CEO and Head of Department.Lindsay’s appointment comes at a critical moment for the sustainability movement and for CISL. Following another year of record temperatures, extreme weather events …

Professor Deborah Prentice, Vice-Chancellor, said: "As the world faces unprecedented global difficulties, it looks to universities for solutions. The University of Cambridge is uniquely placed to offer evidence-based insights, and to educate current and future leaders. These tasks are at the heart of CISL’s mission. I look forward to continuing to …

25 November 2024 - We came to COP29 with 4 asks to unlock private sector ambition and galvanise the private sector’s participation in delivering a net zero and nature-positive economy. Here we look back at the takeaways from all of our key discussions on these topics during the conference:  A robust and inclusive New Collective Quantified Goal on c…

25 November 2024 - In the early hours of Sunday morning, COP29 came to a close with a deal. Though this didn't seem likely at times during the negotiations, our CISL experts examine what the deal means and what comes next.From the absence of the wording ‘fossil fuels’ in the text and a lower than hoped New Collective Quantified Goal  (NCQG) of US $…

19 November 2024 – The Ibero-American Business Network for Green Growth (IABNGG) has been launched in an event that took place today in the Spanish Pavilion at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.  The network's main goal is to mobilise the private sector in Latin America in order to boost collaboration and the development of ambitious green policy framework…

18 November 2024 – As we enter the decisive week two of COP29, feelings are mixed on the amount of progress that has been made, with negotiating teams being reminded that “the clock is ticking.” Negotiations in week one took place under the shadow of political tensions, public disagreements and global politics.Early climate targetsCountries includi…

13 November 2024 – In an opinion piece first published by Reuters, CISL's interim CEO, Lindsay Hooper, explores how we can reach net zero and who can make it happen.The imperative to achieve net zero isn’t grounded in ideology or political world views, but in the hard and fast laws of nature. Net zero is essential to securing long-term resilience a…

4 November 2024 - COP16 ended with the meeting suspended with no overall agreement on a path forward on “resource mobilisation." What will be the ramifications for progress towards a sustainable future? Dr Nina Seega, CISL’s Director of Sustainable Finance, was part of the delegation who attended the conference in Cali, Colombia. She reflected: “CO…

31 October 2024 - We came to COP16 with 4 recommendations to leaders to shift the dial on the nature crisis. Here we look back at the takeaways from all of our key discussions on these topics during the conference: Shift the narrative In our final panel we heard fascinating insights from leaders across business government, and finance on the mindse…

30 October 2024 - At the halfway point of the UNCBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, what has been achieved on the key topic of mobilising resource?As we hit the halfway mark in the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD), the CISL delegation on the ground in Cali, Colombia, outline the key finance discussion points below and what has been achieved…

29 October 2024 - At a crucial moment during the COP16 UN Biodiversity Summit negotiations, over 70 global leaders have come together to back Presidents Gustavo Petro and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva recognizing their leadership in taking integrated action on climate, nature and food systems.The letter, convened by Groundswell, recognises the historic…

18 October 2024 – This week CISL co-hosted a COP29 panel discussion with Cambridge Zero Policy Forum at its Cambridge headquarters, the Entopia Building.The event was organised jointly by CISL and the Cambridge Zero Policy Forum, and CISL’s interim CEO, Lindsay Hooper, moderated a panel of expert speakers: David Moran (UK Climate Adviser, Caspian P…

15 October 2024 - Businesses and financial institutions can go beyond low return, piecemeal actions to systemic changes that incorporate nature and generate positive value for the environment and economy, two CISL reports released today show. Scaling finance for nature: barrier breakdown and Better business: rethinking value for nature positive out…

10 October 2024 - Yesterday (9 October 2024), experts joined University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) interim CEO, Lindsay Hooper, to address pivotal systemic outcomes needed from and after the UNCBD COP16 in Cali, Colombia, later this month.The panellists joining Hooper were Professor Melissa Leach, the newly appointe…