United Nations Human Rights and the University of Oxford Unveil Plans for Landmark Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit to Be held 4-7 June 2025

Celebrities Billie Jean King, Barbra Streisand, Neil Young, Carole King, Annie Lennox, Cyndi Lauper, Ziggy Marley, Pierce Brosnan, Jack Black, Laura Pausini, and more unite with United Nations Human Rights and leading universities to support upcoming global climate justice summit and call world attention to the human rights implications of the climate crisis.

OXFORD, United Kingdom, Sept. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) and the University of Oxford today announced plans to host the 2025 Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit, bringing together renowned experts and leaders, policymakers, technologists, academics and universities, celebrities, and more to advance climate justice through human rights solutions to the climate crisis.

The announcement was made today by Professor Irene Tracey, Vice Chancellor of the University of Oxford, as she hosted Elisa Morgera, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change, Mary Lawlor, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, and representatives from UN Human Rights. Ambitious plans were unveiled for a first-of-its-kind global climate justice summit to be held in Oxford from 4-7 June 2025, in conjunction with participating universities around the world being convened by the International Universities Climate Alliance.

As a major initiative of Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance, the event aims to redefine the concept of international summits. The University of Oxford, Academic Partner of Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance, will coordinate with universities around the world hosting climate-related programs over the four days. Set against the backdrop of Oxford's storied colleges, this summit will also ignite a global dialogue on 5 June 2025 - UN World Environment Day - with a 24-hour global plenary broadcast live across every time zone.

In a critical move to galvanize global action and summit support, this week UN Human Rights and the Right Here, Right Now celebrity coalition including social justice icon Billie Jean King, Barbra Streisand, Carole King, Annie Lennox, Neil Young, Ziggy Marley, Pierce Brosnan, Jack Black, Laura Pausini, Rachel Platt, Kyra Sedgwick, Margaret Cho and more, united in a social media blitz with urgent messages expected to reach a collective audience of more than 150 million followers. The initiative is being launched nine months in advance of the 2025 Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit to ensure participants, media, and the public have ample time to engage, paving the way for meaningful progress.

"With our well-established and world-leading expertise in climate-related research and teaching, the University of Oxford is proud to be the Academic Partner for the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to host this pivotal summit with UN Human Rights, bringing together leaders in human rights and climate research from around the world, across a wide range of disciplines with the common goal of finding solutions to one of the most pressing issues of our times, climate change," said Professor Tracey.

"As the global partner of the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance, UN Human Rights is grateful to the University of Oxford, universities worldwide, and the International Universities Climate Alliance, for their commitment to work with us to advance human rights solutions to prevent, minimize and remedy the human suffering caused by the climate crisis," said Astrid van Genderen Stort, UN Human Rights, Chief External Engagement and Partnerships.

The approach to the summit will also mark a paradigm shift in how international gatherings and global collaboration can thrive while minimizing the carbon footprint of traditional travel. The main event of the summit, the 24-hour global plenary, coordinated by International Universities Climate Alliance, will be co-hosted by the University of Cape Town, University of Colorado Boulder, Monash University, University of Nairobi, University of Oxford, University of São Paulo, UNSW Sydney and more, and will include live and virtual lectures, keynote speeches, and panel discussions. Academic institutions around the world will transform into hubs of climate consciousness, hosting 'watch parties' and local co-host activities, uniting their communities in this historic exchange of ideas.

"Since launching this movement alongside our global partner UN Human Rights at COP26 in Glasgow, with the backing of influential voices like Leonardo DiCaprio, Camilla Cabello, and Quincy Jones, we are immensely proud of the multi-faceted, rapidly growing and innovative climate justice initiative that Right Here, Right Now has become," said David Clark, Founder and CEO of the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance. "Our Academic Partner, the University of Oxford, has responded to the call, leveraging their unique power to engage experts in crafting solutions to the human rights challenges posed by the climate crisis. We also extend our gratitude to the International Universities Climate Alliance for their vital role in uniting universities around the world to help drive the global summit and plenary."

Building on the ambitious Right Here, Right Now Human Rights Climate Commitments recently unveiled by UN Human Rights, the University of Colorado Boulder, and global experts at COP28 in Dubai, the 2025 Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Summit hosted by UN Human Rights and the University of Oxford aims to set a new benchmark in the global fight for climate justice with a forum designed to address the following objectives:

• Advance human-rights solutions to the climate crisis
• Celebrate and elevate the voices of environmental human-rights defenders
• Reinforce and bring together key elements of the global climate-justice movement while minimizing carbon footprint
• Empower and inspire people, especially students, as agents for climate justice now, and in future careers

ABOUT

Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance
Launched at COP26 in 2021 with global partner UN Human Rights, the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance (RHRN) has emerged as a leading global climate justice initiative. It is a multi-stakeholder movement, driven by universities and youth to promote climate justice. To drive sustainable change, RHRN collaborates with policymakers, academics, students, scientists, technologists, media professionals, business leaders, and influencers from art, music, and sport to advance human rights solutions to the climate crisis. RHRN celebrity-driven social media campaigns to date have collectively reached nearly two billion followers with messages promoting climate justice. 

UN Human Rights
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) is the global partner of the Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance (RHRN). It represents the world's commitment to the promotion, protection, and realization of the full range of human rights and fundamental freedoms set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Through the voice and the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and a staff of 1,800 in 103 countries, the Office aims to make human rights a reality in the lives of people everywhere. Fighting climate change is at the very heart of the Office´s mandate, as it already negatively affects the human rights of millions of people around the world – human rights such as those to food, water, housing, health, decent work, development and even life itself.

University of Oxford
Oxford University has been placed number 1 in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings for the eighth year running, and number 3 in the QS World Rankings 2024. At the heart of this success are the twin-pillars of our ground-breaking research and innovation and our distinctive educational offer. Oxford is world-famous for research and teaching excellence and home to some of the most talented people from across the globe. Our work helps the lives of millions, solving real-world problems through a huge network of partnerships and collaborations. The breadth and interdisciplinary nature of our research alongside our personalised approach to teaching sparks imaginative and inventive insights and solutions.

International Universities Climate Alliance
The International Universities Climate Alliance (IUCA) represents leading climate research universities from across 23 countries who are committed to accelerating action on climate change. Universities are uniquely placed to share knowledge and expertise, not only in climate science, but in related research fields including adaptation and mitigation. We believe it is through globally coordinated collaboration that we can create greater insight and action.

CONTACT

Victor Jose Fernandez
United Nation Human Rights
victor.fernandez@un.org

Rebekah Alperin
Right Here, Right Now Global Climate Alliance
reb@gostoryboard.com

Caroline Wood
University of Oxford
news.office@admin.ox.ac.uk

Chaseley Cameron
International Universities Climate Alliance
universitiesforclimate@unsw.edu.au