Professor Dr. Dirk Messner assumed the office of President of the German Environment Agency (UBA) in January 2020. He is also the Co-director of the Käte Hamburger Kolleg (Centre for Global Cooperation & Research) at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Previously, he served as Director of the Institute for Environment and Human Security of United Nations University (UNU-EHS) in Bonn. Messner is an internationally recognized expert on globalization, global governance, transformation pathways to sustainability, decarbonization of the global economy, sustainability and digital change, and international cooperation and societal change. He combines his research interests with teaching activities and is currently professor of political science at the University of Duisburg-Essen.

In his scientific career, Messner has chaired various different international research initiatives, including “The World in 2050”, a global research consortium on the implementation of the Agenda 2030. He has also been a member of a number of high-ranking policy advisory councils, including co-chairing the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU), the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Germany and the Science Platform Sustainability 2030. He has served as a member of the World Bank’s Global Knowledge Council and the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development.

Prior to becoming Director of UNU-EHS in October 2018, Dirk Messner had been Director of the German Development Institute since 2003. Under his leadership, the institute developed an excellent reputation for its scientific and policy-relevant research on global sustainable development.