Exploring how policymakers understand and approach conflicts of interest in climate governance: Building understanding and developing effective communication strategies

Conflicts of interest (COIs) are particularly difficult to manage when industries that profit from harmful products are prominent participants in climate governance, putting such policies at risk of being weakened, delayed or abandoned (Van Den Akker et al., 2024). Despite growing recognition of the importance of preventing and addressing COIs (Gilmore et al., 2025), significant ambiguity remains about what constitutes a COI and why they are problematic for policymaking in the public interest (Ralston et al., 2020). This project aims to explore how policymakers understand COIs in climate governance and current practices for addressing them, and develops communication strategies that build understanding of COIs in policy. It address three objectives:

1. Analyse how policymakers understand and conceptualise COIs between government bodies and other stakeholders in the context of climate governance;

2. Use insights from interviews to inform the development of sector-specific policy briefs for policymakers;

3. Build ECR capacity to translate research findings into communication strategies for policymakers related to complex governance challenges, like COIs, across policy sectors.

We will conduct 20-25 semi-structured interviews with policy officials responsible for climate governance, including environmental protection and related areas, e.g., public health and urban development. We will work with a trusted communications agency to design sector-specific policy briefs drawing on insights from the interviews. These will provide evidence-informed and practical recommendations to recognise and communicate COIs in a climate context. They will be designed to resonate with policymakers by aligning with existing mandates and norms, and piloted in a workshop with academics, policymakers, and NGOs involved in climate governance, drawing on our networks in the Centre for 21st Century Public Health (C21PH), Institute for Policy Research (IPR), and from our external partners.

This project examines how UK national policymakers understand, conceptualise and approach conflicts of interest (COIs) in climate governance. COIs occur where actors in government, business or civil society hold multiple roles or interests across areas with divergent goals, creating tensions where these spheres overlap. In climate governance, COIs arise where interests in maximising profit conflict with planetary or human health goals. Variation and uncertainty in conceptions of COIs and their relevance remain key barriers to safeguarding climate policymaking from undue industry influence. By exploring policymakers’ understandings and approaches to COIs, this project develops communication strategies to support stronger climate governance.