Carter Cheng
FRSA MCIArb

I am the Regional Focal Point for Europe at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Youth Caucus, the Managing Director (London) at the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP), a Legal Fellow with International Lawyers Project, and an Advisory Council Member of the Harvard Business Review.

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Directing the European branch of the official UNCCD youth constituency, I advise the UNCCD Secretariat on its youth engagement policies and capacity-building strategies related to deforestation, land restoration and sustainable land management. By engaging stakeholders—including multinationals, NGOs, nature recovery impact organisations, and activist groups—in productive multilateral dialogues (e.g., UNCCD COP and the Open Dialogues on Climate Change), I work closely with 80+ environmental groups across Europe to elevate young people’s voices in global sustainable land management policymaking.

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As a Legal Fellow of the Environment and Sustainable Development Programme at International Lawyers Project, I challenge economic injustice caused by environmental damage, biodiversity loss, deforestation, illegal resource trafficking, climate change and conflicts over natural resources. Through a wide range of legal strategies, including policy review, strategic litigation support, legal research, capacity-building, and compliance checks, I help affected communities—particularly indigenous communities in Sub-Saharan Africa—to defend rights and hold relevant actors to account.

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Overseeing the London branch of YPFP, the world’s largest network of young professionals in the foreign policy space (with 20,000+ members worldwide), I am leading five initiatives to widen access to the exclusive diplomatic and foreign policy sector in the UK. I was also the Impact Officer (2023-24) of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers London Hub II, where I co-developed the infant hub into one of the most impact-driven Global Shapers Hubs in Europe, directly supporting 500+ individuals through eight impact projects.

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Currently, I am an Aspen UK Rising Leaders Fellow, a Tencent THINC Tech for Impact Fellow, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Previously, I also served as a United Nations SDSN Local Pathways Fellow, a Nelson Mandela Residential Fellow with the Centre for Diplomatic Advancement, and a Climate Negotiations Trainer with the Ministry of Youth and Children of Spain. 

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Between 2017 and 2022, I worked for United Nations ESCAP, where I co-founded Asia’s first-ever agritech research platform. In 2019-2021, I researched and taught geopolitics and tech law as a Yenching Scholar (one of China’s most prestigious graduate fellowships) at Peking University.

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As a MPP Student and a Wolfson College Dr John T Grantham Scholar at the University of Cambridge, I hold an undergraduate degree in International Relations (Dean's List) from the University of St Andrews and dual master’s degrees in Economics and Law at the London School of Economics (LSE) and Peking University.

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