United Nations Foundation Welcomes Sue Biniaz as New Senior Fellow for Climate Change

The United Nations Foundation today welcomed Sue Biniaz as a Senior Fellow.

For more than 25 years, Sue Biniaz served as the lead climate lawyer for the U.S. State Department. In that capacity, she played a central role in all major international climate negotiations, including the Paris Agreement on climate change. During her tenure at the State Department, as a Deputy Legal Adviser, she also supervised the Treaty Office and issues related to the law of the sea, Somali piracy, the Western Hemisphere, human rights, law enforcement, and private international law. Prior to that, she led the State Department’s legal office for Oceans, Environment, and Science, as well as the legal office for European Affairs. She clerked for Judge Dorothy W. Nelson on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, attended Yale College, and earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she is currently on the adjunct faculty.

Elizabeth Cousens, Deputy Chief Executive Office of the UN Foundation, said:

“Sue Biniaz was a key drafter and architect of the Paris Agreement on climate change. She possesses an unsurpassed understanding of the legal nuances surrounding this and other critical international climate and environmental agreements, and is renowned for her ability to resolve the most contentious and seemingly intractable negotiating issues. Her experience and thought leadership will prove invaluable to UNF and to others committed to uniting all nations of the world around bold and ambitious climate action through the Paris Agreement.”

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About the United Nations Foundation

The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by philanthropic, corporate, government, and individual donors. Learn more at: www.unfoundation.org.