Prof. Fatima Denton

Prof. Fatima Denton is the Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA). Before joining UNU-INRA, she worked with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) as Director of the largest substantive division, the Special Initiatives Division – and Coordinator of the African Climate Policy Centre (ACPC). She is an accomplished senior manager, renowned across the research and implementation branches of the UN and beyond for her in-depth knowledge of natural resource management and extensive experience in research and policy development in the African region. Prof. Denton was Programme Leader for the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), where she managed high-impact action research, including Africa’s largest climate change adaptation research programme. She held various positions in international organisations as an energy scientist at the UNEP Risoe Centre and Programme Office at Enda Tier Monde.

The primary focus of Prof. Denton’s research is to understand disparities in power dynamics within the context of climate change and sustainable development, with the primary objective of establishing forums that facilitate discourse on the concept of justice and just transitions. She works on the intersections of adaptation and mitigation, focusing on transition theories, not least green transitions, stranded assets, and minerals and extractives. Political economy, climate finance, and justice are prominent staples of her research. Her research has centred on climate change adaptation, focusing on resilience systems in agriculture, water, and energy, principally in Africa. Prof. Denton has served as a Lead Author and Co-ordinating Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), contributing to reports and special reports over the past two decades. She is currently IPCC Vice Chair for Working Group II.
She is a holder of the Prince Claus Chair on Equity and Development and has been award ed an honorary professorship by the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Prof. Denton has written more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, reports, and books and holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Birmingham, UK. She is active on a number of advisory committees and scientific boards, including the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), the Global Economic Transformation (CGET), the Climate Change Advisory Group (CCAG), and the Earth Commission.