TEA-LP universities collaborate to advance equity and climate resilience
Prof. Ir. Dr. Nofri Yenita Dahlan from UiTM and Prof. Nauman Ahmad Zaffar from LUMS answered a few questions for us and shared what this grant means for their institutions, research and equitable climate resilience.
Q: Congratulations on securing the EU Horizon grant for CLIMEQUITY. What does this award mean for your institutions?
This Horizon Europe award is a significant milestone for our institutions and demonstrates that universities from Europe and the Global South can jointly lead world-class research on climate justice. For LUMS, UiTM and the University of Sierra Leone, it is recognition of years of work in climate resilience, sustainable energy, and community-centred research.
Beyond the funding itself, the project strengthens our international research partnerships, creates opportunities for staff and student exchanges, and enables us to contribute directly to global climate policy discussions. It also reinforces our shared commitment to ensuring that climate solutions are scientifically robust, socially inclusive, and locally relevant.
Q: For those unfamiliar with the project, what is CLIMEQUITY aiming to achieve, and why is climate justice and equity such a pressing issue now?
CLIMEQUITY (Climate Justice and Equity in Scenario Assessment and Policy Action) aims to ensure that climate policies are not only effective in reducing emissions but are also fair and equitable for the communities most affected by climate change.
Today, many climate policies are designed using national or global averages that often overlook vulnerable populations, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Communities that contribute the least to climate change frequently experience its greatest impacts, yet their perspectives are underrepresented in climate modelling and policymaking.
CLIMEQUITY addresses this challenge by developing new frameworks to integrate justice and equity into climate policy assessment, energy and climate models, and adaptation planning. Through collaboration with local communities and policymakers, the project will generate practical tools that support more inclusive and evidence-based decision-making across Europe and partner countries.
Q: What strengths does each partner bring to CLIMEQUITY, and how do these complement one another across regions?
Together, these complementary strengths ensure that the project combines cutting-edge scientific research with practical, community-driven solutions that reflect diverse regional realities.
Q: How has being part of TEA-LP helped build the trust and alignment needed for a major collaborative bid like this?
Large international projects depend on strong relationships long before proposals are written. TEA-LP provided the opportunity for partners to work together, exchange ideas, understand each other’s research cultures, and identify complementary capabilities.
Over time, these interactions built confidence that we could successfully undertake ambitious interdisciplinary research together. The relationships established through TEA-LP made collaboration more efficient because partners already understood each other’s strengths, expectations, and commitment to delivering high-quality research.
Q: With partners spanning Europe, the UK, Pakistan, Malaysia, Sierra Leone and Morocco, how will the project ensure that perspectives from climate-vulnerable regions meaningfully shape the research and policy recommendations?
This is one of CLIMEQUITY’s defining features. Rather than treating communities as research subjects, the project places them at the centre of knowledge creation.
The project will establish Adaptation Action Hub (AAH) testbeds in Pakistan, Malaysia, Morocco, and Sierra Leone, where local communities, policymakers, researchers, and civil society organisations will co-design adaptation strategies and contribute directly to climate policy development. Their experiences will inform new climate justice indicators, integrated assessment models, and policy recommendations.
This bottom-up approach ensures that evidence from climate-vulnerable regions becomes an integral part of international climate knowledge rather than an afterthought.
Q: What tangible impacts – in terms of research outputs, policy influence, or capacity building – do you hope CLIMEQUITY will deliver?
We expect CLIMEQUITY to deliver impacts at multiple levels.
From a research perspective, the project will produce innovative methodologies, open-access datasets, climate justice indicators, integrated assessment modelling tools, scientific publications, and policy briefs.
From a policy perspective, it will provide practical tools that help governments design more equitable climate and energy policies while strengthening dialogue between the Global North and Global South.
In terms of capacity building, the project will train researchers, policymakers, and local stakeholders across partner countries, particularly in integrated assessment modelling, climate adaptation, and evidence-based policymaking. By strengthening local expertise and promoting long-term international collaboration, CLIMEQUITY aims to leave a lasting legacy that extends well beyond the project’s lifetime.
Ultimately, we hope CLIMEQUITY will demonstrate that effective climate action and social justice are not competing priorities – they are mutually reinforcing and essential for building resilient and sustainable societies.
Prepared by:
Prof. Ir. Dr. Nofri Yenita Dahlan
Director of UiTM Solar Research Institute (SRI)
Professor, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, UiTM
Prof. Nauman Ahmad Zaffar
Director, Energy and Power Systems Research Cluster (EPS)
Professor, Electrical Engineering
School of Science & Engineering, LUMS
