Macharia Kamau

Macharia Kamau is a development and humanitarian expert and a social and environmental advocate. He serves as the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations on El Niño and Climate. He is also the Chair of the UN Peacebuilding Commission and Kenya's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Kamau was instrumental in developing the Sustainable Development Goals and UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as Co-Chair and Co-Facilitator of the respective intergovernmental negotiations. He is the recipient of the Elizabeth Haub Award, Gold Medal, for Environmental Diplomacy in 2014, and was awarded the Moran of the Burning Spear by the Government of Kenya in 2012.

During his tenure in New York at the UN, Kamau also sat as President of the UNICEF Board, President of Convention of State Parties of People Living with Disabilities, and President of the United Nations Forest Forum, among other responsibilities. He had previously worked for 25 years with UNICEF and UNDP on multiple assignments around the globe.