John has worked with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in different capacities for more than 30 years. Focus areas are energy, climate and broader sustainable development combining a management role with scientific engagement, fundraising and project implementation.
He has been the director of the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre in its earlier settings at Risø and in DTU from 1990 to 2020. After leaving the UNEP DTU Partnership he worked at CONCITO as International Senior Advisor before taking up the Director position in UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre on December 1, 2022. He has been involved in numerous projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America and published extensively on energy and climate issues.
He has been a lead author on several reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He also served a few years on the Bureau of IPCC and received along with all other IPCC authors the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. He has also been co-editor of the UNEP Emissions Gap report for the last 13 years.
He was in 2019 appointed as Sustainable Development Professor (Hon) at Yonsei University in Korea. The Sustainable Development Professorship is with the Institute for Global Engagement & Empowerment (IGEE) at Yonsei in collaboration with the Ban Ki-moon Centre for Global Citizens.
John has a Master degree and a Ph.D. from the Danish Technical University.
