Gabriela G. Merla

Environmental Law (Mexico), ESG

Gabriela G. Merla is a Mexican and French environmental and climate change lawyer with more than 20 years of experience advising governments, multinational corporations, international organisations and development banks on the environmental and climate legal aspects of complex investments, including environmental permitting, regulatory compliance, climate regulation and sustainability strategies.

Over the course of her career, Gabriela has developed extensive experience advising private sector clients on the legal framework governing the development, construction, and operation of complex projects across the tourism, energy, infrastructure, real estate, and manufacturing sectors. Her practice includes environmental permitting, environmental impact assessments, biodiversity and protected areas, land use, water rights and water security, wastewater treatment and reuse, environmental compliance, environmental liability, and corporate environmental risk management. This practical implementation experience has provided her with an in-depth understanding of the legal, operational, and commercial challenges faced by businesses undertaking long-term investments.

Her practice has also encompassed the structuring of greenhouse gas mitigation projects and carbon credit generation, including the negotiation of Emission Reduction Purchase Agreements (ERPAs) across Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Building on this practical experience, Gabriela has advised governments and international organisations on the design, implementation and strengthening of environmental and climate change regulatory frameworks. Her work has included the design and regulation of emissions trading systems, carbon market mechanisms, climate finance instruments, greenhouse gas mitigation policies, and sustainability regulation. She has collaborated with institutions including GIZ, the World Bank, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), supporting the development and implementation of climate policies and regulatory initiatives in Latin America and other regions.

• Member, Asociación Nacional de Abogados de Empresa México (ANADE)

• Member, ICC France Commission Environnement & Énergie

• Member, ICC Global Commission on Environment and Energy

• Former Member, Gold Standard Technical Advisory Committee

• Former Chair of the Board, LEAD International

• Former Private Sector Observer, Climate Investment Funds

Gabriela advises sovereign governments, multinational corporations, international organisations, development banks, financial institutions, industrial companies, project developers and owners of large-scale infrastructure, tourism, energy, real estate and coastal developments.

1998 – Law Degree, Escuela Libre de Derecho, Mexico

2000 – Postgraduate Studies in Environmental Law and Environmental Policy, Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico

2001 – LL.M. in Environmental Law, London School of Economics

2003 – Research Centre Jülich (Germany), Climate Change: Identifying Options for Developing Countries (German Government Scholarship)

2009 – Passed the Paris Bar Examination

2010 – RENAC Academy, Berlin (Germany), Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (German Government Scholarship)