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Andrew Norton
Director
Andrew Norton is director of IIED. He is an applied anthropologist who works to promote social and environmental justice.
His career spans both research and operational roles in academic and development contexts. He has worked extensively on the social dimensions of climate change, poverty, gender and social analysis, social policy and human rights in development practice.
Andrew has experience of working in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Climate change; natural resource governance; social policy; social inclusion; human rights; poverty; gender; social analysis; and urban social change.
Oversees the full range of IIED's policy and action research activities; particularly focused on the politics and social dimensions of climate change and climate action.
- Director of research for the Overseas Development Institute
- Lead social scientist in the World Bank
- Head of social development for the UK Department for International Development (DFID)
- Doctoral fieldwork in Mali
English, French and Bambara
Andrew Norton's blog posts
Efforts in Hamburg to rally 19 countries to the Paris Agreement were successful, but deeper ambition feels further away.
IIED director Andrew Norton reflects on how the organisation delivers its mission, drawing on the findings of an independent external review.
Climate change is happening, it's caused by humans and will have a negative impact on all our lives. So what are the facts – and what can 'ordinary' citizens do about it?
Following the landmark global agreements on sustainable development sealed in 2015, including the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on climate change, the end of 2016 prompted the question: can the world sustain this hard-fought momentum?
In the face of increasing links between a populist nationalist agenda and climate denial, IIED director Andrew Norton calls for a better political offer, and more effective leadership and mobilisation, to tackle the grave climate action challenge.
The Paris Agreement on climate change enters into force today. IIED director Andrew Norton argues that the voices of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people must be heard if the treaty is to be truly effective.
The global goals, which UN members signed up to last year, are for all countries, not just poor ones. How is the UK going to implement them?
IIED's director Andrew Norton argues that a spirit of internationalism must live on in the UK following the seismic shock of Brexit.
Action in policy and practice is needed to ensure the many benefits from oceans, seas and coasts are available to all.
An estimated 54.5 per cent of the world's population live in urban areas, compared with 37.9 per cent 40 years ago. In this context, can Habitat III deliver the 'new urban agenda' we need?
As Christiana Figueres stands down as executive secretary to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, IIED director Andrew Norton argues the time is right for an LDC representative to take the reins.
New figures show an overall decline in aid to the world's Least Developed Countries, yet commitments made in Paris and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda call for more aid, not less.
Building on the historic agreement forged in Paris, IIED's director Andrew Norton looks at the opportunities to ensure global agreements on the need for sustainable development reach the local level.
A historic agreement on climate change in Paris must drive ambition for climate action post-2015, says IIED director Andrew Norton.
There is much debate as to whether the Paris climate summit can deliver an adequate response to the challenge of climate change. In the wake of the tragedy of last Friday's attacks in the French capital, Andrew Norton pays tribute to France's efforts to secure an ambitious agreement and hopes for success.
Andrew Norton's blog posts with other authors
The international commitment to reducing inequality marks a welcome breakthrough. But without clearer targets for measuring progress, driving change to tackle rising inequality will be a challenge.
From wetland protection in South Africa to scrapping fossil fuel subsidies in Indonesia, the best climate policies are pro-poor.
The 10th community-based adaptation conference culminated in Dhaka last week with a strong message to engage communities in climate change action. This implies a greater role for local governments and communities in determining how climate-related decisions are made.