"A real turning point"

What is your job at the United Nations?
I work at the UNFCCC Secretariat, which deals with the Framework Convention on Climate Change and paved the way for the successful Paris Agreement. One of my jobs was to help Colombia and Caribbean countries to prepare for the Paris Conference.

How did you get to where you are now?
I studied environmental management in Brazil and completed a Master’s degree in energy. After working for a consulting firm for a number of ­years, I took part in a training programme on renewable energy organised by GIZ. It was a very intense year of seminars and internships, including one at Germany’s Federal Environment Agency (UBA). It also included leadership and management training.

What role did the training play for you?
It was a real turning point in my career. After the training, I found a job with a Swiss consulting firm. I’m sure I wouldn’t have got this job if it hadn’t been for the year in Germany. A short time later, I received the offer from the United Nations, where I would like to put my skills to good use at the ­international level.

Alexandre Gellert Paris, Brazilian environmental expert at the United Nations in Bonn. In 2010, Gellert Paris took part in a one-year GIZ capacity building programme for young managers.

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