International Environmental Law Summer Clerkship
The Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development (IGSD) is seeking 2026 summer clerks to support its efforts to reduce near-term climate risks to communities and ecosystems. These strategies include cutting “super pollutants,” such as methane, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), nitrous oxide, black carbon soot, and tropospheric ozone, and protecting and enhancing carbon sinks. Fast mitigation strategies are essential to limiting warming and must complement long-term decarbonization and transitions to high-efficiency, climate-friendly technologies. The IGSD team works on laws, policies, and related actions to keep the world from crashing through the 1.5ºC guardrail — or at least keep this temperature guardrail in sight, limit overshoot, and return to a safe temperature as fast as possible. Below are examples of IGSD’s work that clerks could work on this summer:
- Working with partners to improve climate governance and policies related to fast mitigation. For over a decade, IGSD has been spearheading national, regional, and international strategies to reduce SLCPs (black carbon, tropospheric ozone, methane, and f-gases such as HFCs).
- Conducting research on novel legal theories and strategies, and helping support our international climate litigation portfolio. IGSD brings a fast-mitigation focus to climate litigation and supports litigants around the world who are bringing cases to compel faster, more aggressive action on climate change.
- Assisting with preparation for international treaty meetings, including the Montreal Protocol and the UNFCCC. Phasing down HFCs under the Montreal Protocol, and parallel efforts to increase energy efficiency in cooling that can double the climate impact of an HFC phasedown, are central to IGSD’s fast-action climate mitigation campaign. IGSD also participates in international treaty and other dialogues where progress on this issue is possible.
- Advancing legal and scientific thinking on key climate proposals. IGSD actively publishes law reviews, scientific articles, primers, and other background notes. See IGSD’s list of publications here.
Basic Qualifications
- Excellent writing, research, and editing skills
- Demonstrated commitment to climate and environmental progress
- 0-3 years of experience
- Excellent references
- Strong work ethic and experience working individually and in diverse teams
- Innovative approaches to solving complex problems
Additional Qualifications
- Legislative drafting or international law experience
- Experience with organizing projects, including workshops or other events
- Author of environmental, foreign policy, and/or human rights-related papers, articles, and opinion pieces
Educational Qualifications
- JD candidates, ideally 2L or higher, or 1L with relevant work experience.
- LLM candidates with excellent English writing, reading, and research skills.
- Added plus for public-interest-minded candidates who lost summer/internship opportunities with U.S. federal agencies and with relevant work experience, such as work involving super climate pollutants like methane.
Location This is a hybrid position, with the opportunity to work with and receive supervision from experienced attorneys, economists, and scientists on a variety of international environmental law and policy issues. Many on our team are based in the Washington, D.C. area, and gather online each week and in person whenever possible. This ensures that our summer clerks have the necessary teamwork experience and supervision. Apply tot his job Apply To this Job