Roda Verheyen studied law in Hamburg, Oslo and London. From 1998 to 2001 she was involved in the international climate campaign of Friends of the Earth International. From 2001 to 2006 she worked as an independent consultant amongst others for the Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit and the Federal Ministry of Environment. Since 2006, she is working as a lawyer and since 2021 as well as an honorary judge at the Hamburg Constitutional Court. In addition to well-known environmental organizations such as Greenpeace e.V. and Germanwatch e.V., she also advises farmers and individuals.
Roda Verheyen and her fellow campaigners achieved major success in spring 2021 when they took the German government to the Federal Constitutional Court over its climate policy. This was the first time that a climate lawsuit was upheld before Germany's highest court.
Roda Verheyen was a member of the German delegation to the Framework Convention on Climate Change, is a founder and board member of Green Legal Impact Germany e.V. and has been fighting for more climate protection for decades.
In June 2022, her book, co-authored with Alexandra Endres "Wir alle haben ein Recht auf Zukunft. Eine Ermutigung” (We all have a right to a future. An encouragement) will be published.