Our People
Professor Lavanya Rajamani
Professor Lavanya Rajamani
- Yamani Fellow and Tutor in Public International Law
- Professor of International Environmental Law
I am the Yamani Fellow in Public International Law at St Peter’s, and a Professor of International Environmental Law at the Law Faculty. I did my graduate studies in Oxford, taught in Cambridge, and worked at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi before joining St Peter’s and the Law Faculty in the summer of 2019.
Teaching
In college, I teach Public International Law and Jursiprudence, and at the Law Faculty I lecture on Public International Law to the undergraduates, and run a seminar on International Environmental Law for the graduates (B.C.L and M.Jur).
Research
My research is focused on international environmental law, in particular international climate change law. I have worked extensively on the international climate change negotiations. I have represented small island states, advised climate change negotiators from around the world, and provided legal expertise to the United Nations Climate Secretariat, including as part of the core drafting and advisory team for the 2015 Paris Agreement.
My expertise lies in drafting constructively ambiguous compromise language in the vanishingly small sweet spot between the red lines of states. The dysfunctional politics of the international climate negotiations have led to considerable innovation and experimentation in the legal character of obligations, in differentiation between developed and developing states, and even in the processes and procedures used to organise multilateral negotiations. My research explores the ways in which the international climate change regime, and innovations within it, are shifting the boundaries of international law.
I have authored several books and articles in this field. My latest book is the second edition of the Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law (August 2021), a massive tome with 67 chapters. My previous book titled, Innovation and Experimentation in the International Climate Change Regime, is based on a Special Course I delivered at the Hague Academy of International Law and was published in March 2020 as part of the Collected Courses of the Hague Academy of International Law/ Receuil des Cours. My book International Climate Change Law (Oxford University Press, UK, 2017), co-authored with Daniel Bodansky and Jutta Brunnée won the 2018 American Society of International Law Certificate of Merit in a Specialized Area of International Law.
Among other roles, I served as Coordinating Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report, and I serve as a member of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group.
I am also involved in differing capacities, but in particular in providing the evidence base, in current and prospective climate cases before national and international courts. My work has been cited by claimants in cases including before the European Court of Human Rights. An inter-disciplinary article I lead-authored on ‘National Fair Shares for GHG mitigation’ was extensively canvassed by the claimants in their written submissions and oral hearings before the Grand Chamber in the first two climate cases before the European Court of Human Rights, including, the path-breaking, 2024 Klimaseniorennen case.
I acted as external counsel supporting the Government of Vanuatu in its pursuit of an Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice on climate rights and responsibilities of States. Nearly 30 national statements to the ICJ in these proceedings referred to different books and articles I have written. Just one book chapter ‘Due Diligence in International Climate Change Law’ was relied on in 10 national statements. This case resulted on 23 July 2025 in a spectacular outcome for vulnerable countries. The ICJ took an approach to interpreting the Paris Agreement and setting a stringent standard for due diligence for States that I had laid out in my 2024 article, Interpreting the Paris Agreement in its Normative Environment.
I am currently on sabbatical working on new editions of International Climate Change Law (Oxford University Press), and Principles of International Environmental Law (Cambridge University Press).
College news
Prof Lavanya Rajamani Delivers the 2022 Heilbron Lecture at the Old Bailey
Bad COP, Good COP? Prof Lavanya Rajamani on why climate talks matter
Podcasts and media
Video: Prof Lavanya Rajamani on climate change and international law
Podcast: Prof Lavanya Rajamani featured on Fire and Wire podcast
Prof Lavanya Rajamani participated in two podcasts on the ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate:
International Law Chats Ep. 5 - The ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change with Experts (available on Spotify)