Climate change, increasingly scarce and polluted water resources, loss of biodiversity and the degradation of ecosystems and land resources pose risks to humanity as a whole and the poor in particular. A transformation to sustainability is needed to avoid tipping points of the earth system at global and regional levels. This programme examines different strategies for the protection of the global climate, the environment and natural resources and scrutinizes the extent to which they meet the transformative requirements of the Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 Agenda. It analyses the interactions between relevant actors and institutions of global and multi-level environmental governance. It focuses on the legitimacy of respective governance mechanisms and their effects on ecosystems and human welfare, with an empirical focus on developing countries and emerging economies. It consists of two complementary research clusters. Cluster 1 examines the interaction between global environmental governance and (sub)national transformation strategies, and Cluster 2 deals with approaches to natural resource governance that promote the common good.