Sue Biniaz

Sue Biniaz was most recently the Principal Deputy Special Envoy for Climate for the United States. A former Deputy Legal Adviser at the U.S. State Department, she was also the lead climate lawyer for the U.S. government for more than 25 years. In that capacity, she played a central role in all major international climate negotiations, including the Paris Agreement.  As a Deputy Legal Adviser, she also supervised the Treaty Office and issues related to East Asian Affairs, Western Hemisphere Affairs, the environment, law of the sea, human rights and refugees, law enforcement, private international law, and Somali piracy.  Biniaz previously led the State Department’s legal office for Oceans, Environment, and Science, as well as the legal office for European Affairs.

Between 2017 and returning to the State Department in 2021 with Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, Biniaz taught at Yale University, Columbia University, and the University of Chicago and was a senior fellow at the UN Foundation. She continues to be a Senior Fellow and Lecturer at Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs. Earlier in her career, Biniaz clerked for Judge Dorothy W. Nelson on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She attended Yale College and earned her J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Biniaz was also an EPIC Distinguished Fellow from 2016-2017.

“I really enjoyed being an EPIC fellow and adjunct faculty at the law school in 2017, so I was thrilled to be asked to return. I look forward once again to sharing some of my experiences with students and faculty.”