Nicola Sharman joined RIFS as a Fellow in April 2024, where she is developing part of her doctoral research on the democratic legitimacy of international climate change law. Nicola is pursuing her doctorate with the University of Eastern Finland as part of the 2035Legitimacy project, an interdisciplinary project which aims to assess the legitimacy of climate policy. Her work more specifically focuses on the exercise of procedural rights within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change from the point of view of those most affected by climate change. It is funded by the Strategic Research Council of Finland. Nicola holds a master's degree in Global Environmental Law and Governance from the University of Strathclyde, and worked for several years prior to this as a solicitor.