My LLM in Environmental Law at SOAS has given me all the right ingredients for successfully shaping my desired career trajectory: critical, out-of-the-box thinking combined with a wide view of world issues and a great understanding of the environment-development nexus. After graduating from SOAS in 2014, I worked as an environmental lawyer in Italy and then moved on to working with the European Commission on international climate negotiations and technical assistance projects in the field of climate change law and policy. Fast-forward to 2019 and I achieved my career dream to join the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) where I now work as Programme Officer in charge of strategic planning, inter-agency and intergovernmental coordination and Development System reform. I will be forever grateful to Professor Cullet and the amazing team of SOAS lecturers for broadening my vision of the world and the legal and policy instruments needed to address the impacts of the environmental crisis we face.

After my introduction to the complexities of international environmental law at SOAS, I was inspired to not just learn about the law but be an active part in changing it. The impassioned and diverse perspectives from professors and classmates at SOAS have colored my continued focus on making connections between the laws of the world while pursuing my JD at Harvard, making good use of the international environmental law background I had from SOAS. In 2018, I worked with international courts in The Hague, where I expanded my water law knowledge with law of the sea. 

Marc Jourdan is the UN Representative and Environmental Programs Coordinator for the Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD). Marc is responsible for managing the foundation’s programs at the United Nations, including attending the public sessions of inter-governmental meetings and conferences, organizing side events and publication briefings, making oral interventions and circulating written material on matters related to the agenda of UN meetings as they relate to the Mission of the foundation and the sustainable development of the Dominican Republic. In his additional capacity as Environmental Programs Coordinator, Marc helps to provide content to the environmental programs of the foundation, including its grassroots initiatives ReCrearte and Eco-Huertos which empower individuals and communities through practical workshops that teach the principles of sustainable development.

Prior to joining GFDD in 2013, Marc worked as a policy advisor on climate change issues for the international nonprofit The Climate Group as well as the Permanent Mission of the Maldives to the United Nations. Previously, he worked as a corporate lawyer for 4 years in the United Kingdom. Marc has an LLB in Law and French from the University of Surrey and an LLM in Environmental Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.