Built around workshops, peer-reviewed publications, and international engagements, the programme connects ULB’s research on international climate politics with the working agendas of policymakers, diplomats, and civil society. The team is led by Prof. Romain Weikmans (Centre de recherche et d’études en politique internationale, Department of Political Science), with postdoctoral researcher Matthias Petel and PhD candidate Sophie Ledoux.

Workshop 1: Belgium’s international climate finance. Held on 22 October 2025 at the Fondation Universitaire in Brussels: To COP30 and Beyond, on strengthening Belgium’s international climate finance. Turnout exceeded registrations.

Workshop 2: A decisive year for the fossil fuel phase-out. Held on 20 March 2026 at the Fondation Universitaire, with nine expert speakers (six academics, two NGO representatives, one European Commission official) and an audience of around 60: academics, NGO and business representatives, regional, federal and international officials, federal parliamentarians, ministerial cabinet staffers, and party think-tank researchers. The closing session featured Federal Minister Jean-Luc Crucke, and the day was organised in preparation for the 1st International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels (Santa Marta, Colombia, April 2026).

Workshop 3: Rethinking international economic law beyond fossil fuel dependence. Planned for late October 2026 and building on the discussions initiated in Santa Marta, the aim is to examine how international economic law contributes to the production and reproduction of fossil fuel dependence, but also how it could be rethought to enable a just, orderly, and democratic transition away from fossil fuels.