Jacob Werksman

Jacob Werksman has, since 2012, served as Principal Adviser to Directorate General for Climate Action in the European Commission, where his work focuses on the international aspects of European climate policy.  His responsibilities include leading aspects of the European Union negotiations under the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and advising the Commission with regard to international partnerships to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including under the Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances and the International Civil Aviation Organization.  He supports the Commission Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal and the European External Action Service in strengthening bilateral relationships between the EU and major economies, including the United States, China and India and other international partners.

Werksman is an international lawyer, specializing in international environmental law and international economic law.  He has provided legal and policy advice to developed and developing country governments, NGOs and international institutions in the context of the multilateral negotiations on climate change, biosafety and trade.  He has taught and published widely on the international legal dimensions of climate policy, including on the design of compliance mechanisms, climate finance and on the relationship between carbon markets and international trade and investment agreements. 

Prior to joining the Commission, he held posts at the World Resources Institute, the Rockefeller Foundation, United Nations Development Programme, and the Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD) in London. He has lectured in international environmental and economic law at the masters level at the New York University Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, and at the School of Oriental and African Studies and University College at the University of London.  Werksman holds degrees from Columbia University (A.B.), the University of Michigan (J.D.) and the University of London (LL M.).