Prof. Dr. Dirk Messner has been President of the Federal Environment Agency since January 1, 2020. He is also co-director of the "Käte Hamburger Kolleg/Centre for Global Cooperation Research" at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Prof. Messner was previously Director of the United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and Vice Rector of the United NationsUniversity (UNU). Prior to that, he headed the "German Development Institute" since 2003. He is an internationally recognized expert in the fields of globalization/global governance, transformations towards sustainability, decarbonization of the global economy, sustainability and digital transformation, and international cooperation and societal change. He combines his research interests with teaching and is currently Professor of Political Science at the University of Duisburg-Essen. He has led various international research initiatives and is a member of the Earth League, among others. He has served on high-level policy advisory boards, including co-chairing the WBGU, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network Germany, and the Science Platform Sustainability 2030, as well as the Global Knowledge Council of the Worldbank and the China Council on Global Cooperation on Development and Environment.