Joseph Alcamo

Last updated

Joseph Alcamo (born 1951) is a U.S. environmental scientist who served as Chief Scientist of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) from 2009 to 2013. [1]

Contents

Career

Alcamo received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering in 1973 [2] and a master's degree in environmental engineering from Manhattan College, and earned his PhD for civil-environmental engineering at the University of California. [3] From 1973 to 1980, he worked as an environmental engineer in the private sector, before changing to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 1981 and from there to the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria in 1982. [3] From 1992 to 1996, Alcamo worked at the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. Since 1996, Alcamo is a professor at University of Kassel in Germany, working as the head of the university's Center for Environmental Systems Research. He has taken a temporary leave of absence from the institute, however, to work as the Chief Scientist for UNEP until 2013. [1]

In 1998, Alcamo was awarded the Max Planck Research Prize for physics and geoscience, in honor of his contributions to global modeling, and the use of global models in international policy. [3]

He was named as a Special Advisor to the UNFCCC Executive Secretary in 2014. [4] He has led the Sussex Sustainability Research Programme since early 2017. [5]

Research

Alcamo published numerous articles and books about environmental subjects, many of them focussing on the modeling of environmental changes and the effects of global warming. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Nations Environment Programme</span> Aims to help solve environmental issues

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972. Its mandate is to provide leadership, deliver science and develop solutions on a wide range of issues, including climate change, the management of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and green economic development. The organization also develops international environmental agreements; publishes and promotes environmental science and helps national governments achieve environmental targets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Klaus Töpfer</span> German politician

Klaus Töpfer is a German politician (CDU) and environmental politics expert. From 1998 to 2006 he was executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) was built by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) on the basis of a 10-Year Implementation Plan running from 2005 to 2015. GEOSS seeks to connect the producers of environmental data and decision-support tools with the end users of these products, with the aim of enhancing the relevance of Earth observations to global issues. GEOSS aims to produce a global public infrastructure that generates comprehensive, near-real-time environmental data, information and analyses for a wide range of users. The Secretariat Director of Geoss is Barbara Ryan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calestous Juma</span> Kenyan academic

Calestous Juma was a Kenyan scientist and academia, specializing in sustainable development. He was named one of the most influential 100 Africans in 2012, 2013 and 2014 by the New African magazine. He was Professor of the Practice of International Development and Faculty Chair of the Innovation for Economic Development Executive Program at Harvard Kennedy School. Juma was Director of the School's Science, Technology and Globalization Project at Harvard Kennedy School as well as the Agricultural Innovation in Africa Project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. His last book, Innovation and Its Enemies: Why People Resist New Technologies, was published by Oxford University Press in 2016.

Sir Martin Wyatt Holdgate is an English biologist and environmental scientist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvo de Boer</span>

Yvo de Boer is an advisor and consultant on international environmental policy. De Boer is the former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a position he held from 2006 until 2010. After his UN tenure, de Boer was Global Chairman of Climate Change and Sustainability Services at KPMG. From 2014 to 2016 de Boer was Director-General of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), a Seoul-based international environmental organization.

Pier Vellinga is an environmental scientist and one of the Netherlands' experts on the impacts of climate change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacqueline McGlade</span>

Jacqueline Myriam McGlade is a British-born Canadian marine biologist and environmental informatics professor. Her research concerns the spatial and nonlinear dynamics of ecosystems, climate change and scenario development. She is currently professor of resilience and sustainable development at the University College London Institute for Global Prosperity and Faculty of Engineering, UK, and professor at Strathmore University in the Institute for Public Policy and Governance, Kenya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rolph Payet</span>

Rolph Antoine Payet FRGS is an international policy expert, researcher and speaker on environment, climate and island issues, and was the first President & Vice-Chancellor of the University of Seychelles. He was Minister of Environment and Energy in the Cabinet of Seychelles from 2012 to 2014. He is currently United Nations Executive Secretary for the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Convention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajendra Shende</span> Indian climate change scientist

Rajendra Madhavrao Shende, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and former Director in United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is currently serving as the Chairman of TERRE Policy Centre which is a not-for-profit organization engaged in the policy development and project based advocacy on the sustainable development. Before August 2011, he was the Head of the OzonAction Branch of the United Nations Environment Programme, Division of the Technology, Industry and Economics in Paris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dionysia-Theodora Avgerinopoulou</span> Greek politician

Dionysia-Theodora Avgerinopoulou is a politician regarding environmental matters, a specialized attorney in International, Environmental and Sustainable Development Law, and the recipient of the Green Star Award awarded by UNEP, OCHA, and Green Cross International for her leadership in prevention, preparedness and response to environmental emergencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zakri Abdul Hamid</span> Malaysian academic

Tan Sri Zakri bin Abdul Hamid has had a distinguished career in science as a researcher, educator, administrator and diplomat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in climate change</span>

The contributions of women in climate change have received increasing attention in the early 21st century. Feedback from women and the issues faced by women have been described as "imperative" by the United Nations and "critical" by the Population Reference Bureau. A report by the World Health Organization concluded that incorporating gender-based analysis would "provide more effective climate change mitigation and adaptation."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bradnee Chambers</span>

Bradnee Chambers was an expert on international environmental governance, law and politics. In March 2013 he was appointed as the Executive Secretary of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), a main United Nations multilateral conservation treaty He was also the acting Executive Secretary of the Gorilla Agreement and the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans in the Baltic, North East Atlantic, Irish and North Seas (ASCOBANS) both administered under the UN Environment Programme. These agreements form the global framework for conservation of wild animals migrating between countries. The agreements cover an immense scope of wildlife including whales, dolphins, sharks, elephants, big cats, bats, monarch butterflies, saiga antelope, waterbirds, and migratory fish.

Janos Pasztor is a Hungarian diplomat. His current role is Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and Executive Director of the Carnegie Climate Geoengineering Governance Initiative. He was Assistant Secretary-General in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in New York City and Senior Adviser to the Secretary-General on Climate Change between January 2015 and December 2016. Previously he has held positions at the World Wide Fund for Nature International where he was Policy and Science Director and acting Director for Conservation.

Professor Reuben James Olembo (1937–2005) was a prominent Kenyan academic, scientist and environmentalist. He was a deputy executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which he played a pivotal role in helping found, and United Nations Assistant Secretary General from 1994 to 1998. He became the Acting Secretary General of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), after his retirement from UNEP.

Shobhakar Dhakal is the Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand since April 2021. In the past he was Dean of School of Environment, Resources and Development, and Head of Department of Energy Environment and Climate Change of Asian Institute of Technology. His main areas of expertise are in energy policy, climate change mitigation and policies, policy modelling and analysis, and cities and climate change. Dhakal actively contributes to international and scientific arena.

Martha Rojas Urrego Biologist

Martha Rojas Urrego is a biologist, ecologist and humanitarian, gender and environmental advocate. She is a Colombian and French national. In August 2016 she was appointed as the Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Previously she was Head of Global Advocacy and Acting Deputy Secretary General at humanitarian organization CARE International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert K. Dixon</span>

Robert K. Dixon is an energy, environment, and economic expert at the Office of International Affairs, US Department of Energy headquarters in Washington, DC, USA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joyce Msuya</span> Tanzanian microbiologist and environmental scientist

Joyce Msuya is a Tanzanian microbiologist and environmental scientist who has been serving as Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator in the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs since 2021. From 2018 to 2021, she served as the Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the level of Assistant Secretary-General.

References

  1. 1 2 "Experts' profiles". United Nations Environment Programme. Archived from the original on 2015-06-12. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
  2. http://jasperjottings-daily.com/2014/12/30/wikipedia-alcamo-joseph-mc-unep/
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Joseph Alcamo". University of Kassel - Center for Environmental Systems Research. Retrieved 2013-04-02.
  4. "Award Winning Scientist Alcamo is Special Advisor to UNFCCC Executive Secretary". UNFCCC. Archived from the original on 2016-03-11. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  5. "Staff profile". University of Sussex . Retrieved 2017-04-10.