Building resilience and greening the COVID-19 recovery in least developed countries
Active Project
Binyam Gebreyes
Senior researcher, IIED's Climate Change research group; head of governance, LIFE-AR
Binyam works in the field of global climate law and governance, specialising in climate diplomacy and negotiations, with a focus on climate finance and adaptation policies.
Binyam works in the field of global climate law and governance, specialising in climate diplomacy and negotiations, with a focus on climate finance and adaptation policies.
As the climate diplomacy lead for the global climate law and governance team at IIED, Binyam plays a critical role in elevating the voices of least developed countries (LDCs) within international climate negotiations.
As the head of governance for the LDC Initiative for Effective Adaptation and Resilience (LIFE-AR), Binyam works towards building sustained resilience and adaptative capacity in LDCs and helps move from traditional adaptation projects to innovative, programmatic approaches.
Expertise
Binyam's expertise encompasses climate diplomacy, adaptation strategy, international climate negotiation and governance, with a special emphasis on guiding LDCs through complex negotiation processes and governance challenges.
Before IIED
Before joining IIED, Binyam was deeply involved in environmental and climate change policy at the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change of Ethiopia. His roles included acting as a climate change negotiation coordination expert, where he was instrumental in shaping Ethiopia's contributions to the UNFCCC and other multilateral environmental agreements. He played a central role in drafting environmental regulations and facilitating Ethiopia’s participation in the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
Education:
- Bachelor of law (LLB), Mekelle University, Ethiopia
- Master of law (LLM) in intellectual property law, University of South Africa (UNISA)
Current work
Binyam is at the forefront of advancing LDC interests in global climate negotiations.
Binyam also partly sits within LIFE-AR overseeing the LIFE-AR governance framework, including its strategic advising and technical working groups, and ensuring that it remains responsive and effective in advocating for LDC priorities on the international stage.
