Jorge Laguna-Celis is the Director responsible for the United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) One Planet Network, a global community of practitioners, policymakers and experts working towards achieving SDG 12: ensuring sustainable patterns of consumption and production.
Previously, Jorge was the Director of UNEP’s policy making organs, including the United Nations Environment Assembly, and for the organization’s engagement with civil society and business and industry organizations.
Jorge joined UNEP in 2014 as a Senior Programme Officer responsible for intergovernmental policy coordination within UNEP's New York Office. He brings to UNEP 20 years of experience in intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder processes, global sustainable development policies and sustainable development-related governance.
Jorge began his professional career in the late 1990s at the editorial house Fondo de Cultura Económica in Mexico City. In 2002, he joined the Institut d’Estudis Catalans in Barcelona as a research fellow. In 2003, he worked as an international consultant for the Directorate of Public Governance and Territorial Development of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In 2005, Jorge joined the Mexican Foreign Service, where he first worked on international migration and development and later served, from 2006 to 2010, as Deputy Chief of the Mexican Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, and Deputy Permanent Representative to UN Environment. During that period, he was also appointed member of the High Level Advisory Panel of the Fifth Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-5).
From 2010 to 2013, Jorge was a lead negotiator during the Rio+20 Conference and a senior delegate for Mexico to the Second Committee of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). In June 2013, Jorge was commissioned by the Government of Mexico to serve as Senior Advisor for sustainable development and the Post-2015 Development Agenda at the Office of the President of the General Assembly. Jorge holds a BA degree in International Relations from El Colegio de México (Colmex) and an MA degree in International Trade from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques (Sciences-Po) in Paris.
He is the author of numerous columns and publications on issues related to international affairs and sustainable development. His latest book, entitled "From Rio+20 to a New Development Agenda: Building a Bridge to a Sustainable Future", was published in 2014 by Routledge.
Staff Position Level: D1
Region: Latin America & Caribbean
