Karen Alvarenga

Karen Alvarenga is a Team Leader and Writer with Earth Negotiations Bulletin, as well as an Environmental lawyer and economist. A Brazilian/British national with a focus on climate change mitigation & adaptation, forests, water, biodiversity and chemicals, she has covered UNFCCC, UN CBD, ITTO, BBNJ and other negotiations of multilateral environmental agreements for over two decades.

Karen is passionate about compliance and sustainability solutions combined with a positive mindset. Her work has focused on legal and economic instruments to restore ecosystems in developing countries while fostering livelihoods. She has written books and a myriad of articles on ESG topics. 

After a decade working on the private sector, she decided to come back to the UN MEA negotiations to assist in shaping a more sustainable future.

She holds a BA in Law (UFMG, Brazil), a LLM in Environmental Law and Conservation (University of Kent, England), a LLM in Tax Law (UFMG, Brazil), a MPhil in Land Economy (University of Cambridge, England) and a Ph.D in Land Economy (University of Cambridge, England) with her thesis on climate change and distributive justice. 

When Karen is not working, she can be found swimming with turtles in Fernando de Noronha.