Europe has lost one of its most respected and able environmental lawyers and committed advocates for environmental justice with the death of Marc Pallemaerts, very sadly at the age of only 53. Marc combined many roles as an academic, active policy maker and advocate, analyst, mentor and most recently as Special Rapporteur to the UN Human Rights Council. He was also a valued member of the IEEP team. Marc joined the institute as a Senior Fellow in the Brussels office in December 2005 and held a number of senior positions, until recently being the Head of the Global Issues and External Action Programme. 

Marc was an inspiring, supportive and rigorous colleague. For many years he was a pillar of the institute, with astute insights into innumerable aspects of environmental law and European policy. We all benefitted from his distinctive combination of clarity, fearlessness, undeterred persistence and almost shy charm. He will be greatly missed, within and beyond the institute. 

Please visit our tribute page to read more about Marc’s numerous achievements.