Carter Cheng is the European Focal Point of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Youth Caucus, Managing Director (London) at the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy (YPFP), and Engagement Coordinator for the Democratising Education for Global Sustainability and Justice (DemEd Global) programme at the University of Cambridge. She has also been named a Future 50 Leader by the World Economic Forum.

In her role with the UNCCD Youth Caucus, Cheng leads the European branch of the official youth constituency, advising the UNCCD Secretariat on youth engagement strategies addressing deforestation and desertification. As Chair of YPFP London, the largest local chapter within a global network of over 20,000 members, she directs seven major initiatives that equip young changemakers to influence international forums including the G7, G20, and UN Climate COPs.

At Cambridge, Cheng serves as the Engagement Coordinator of DemEd Global, where she oversees institutional partnerships with organisations such as the Bennett Institute for Public Policy and the Centre for Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Governance (CEENRG). Her work supports over 8,000 emerging law and policy leaders from more than 160 countries to access funded education in sustainable development law and governance.

Cheng is also a Legal Fellow with the International Lawyers Project, where she undertakes strategic litigation and advocacy to assist indigenous communities in Africa facing economic and ecological injustices linked to deforestation, biodiversity loss, and climate change.

She currently serves on the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council and sits on the judging panel for the FAO World Food Forum Youth Policy Board. Her previous experience includes roles at the UK Cabinet Office, the Spanish Ministry of Youth, United Nations ESCAP, Peking University, and the University of Hong Kong.

Cheng is pursuing a PhD at the University of Cambridge, where her research centres on designing governance models that transform climate technology innovation into catalysts for equity, inclusivity, and resilience. She holds an LLM (Yenching Fellow) from Peking University, an MSc in Economic History from the London School of Economics, and a BA in International Relations (Dean’s List) from the University of St Andrews.