Janos Pasztor (born 1955) is a retired Hungarian diplomat. Before retirement, his last role was Senior Fellow at the

Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs The Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is a New York City–based 501(c)(3) public charity serving international affairs professionals, teachers and students, and the attentive public. Founded in 1914, and originally named ''Ch ...

and Executive Director of th
Carnegie Climate Geoengineering Governance Initiative
until the initiative's planned closure at the end of 2023. He was Assistant Secretary-General in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

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 The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

International where he was Policy and Science Director and acting Director for Conservation.

Career in the UN

Pasztor has extensive experience of working in the United Nations with previous roles including (2010-2012) Executive Secretary of the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability (GSP); (2008-2010) Director of UN Secretary-General’s Climate Change Support Team; (2007) Director, UN Environment Management Group (EMG), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); (1993-2006) Various positions at the secretariat of the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the UN process for negotiating an agreement to limit dangerous climate change. It is an international treaty among countries to combat "dangerous human interference with th ...

(UNFCCC), initially in Geneva, and later in Bonn. The last position was Coordinator, Project-based Mechanisms Programme; (1990-1992) Senior Programme Officer, Atmosphere and Energy, Secretariat of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED, or the “Earth Summit ‘92”); and (1986-1989) Energy Programme Officer,

United Nations Environment Programme 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 Declaration of the United Nati ...

(UNEP).

Career outside of the UN

From 2012-2015 he was Policy and Science Director, and from May 2015 Acting Executive Director for Conservation at WWF International; (1989-1990) he was a Research Associate,

Stockholm Environment Institute Stockholm Environment Institute, or SEI, is a non-profit, independent research and policy institute specialising in sustainable development and environmental issues, with seven affiliate offices around the world. SEI works on climate change, en ...

; (1985-1986) Senior Programme Officer, Energy at the World Commission on Environment and Development (the “Brundtland Commission”); (1984) Research Associate, The Beijer Institute; (1979 – 1983) Director, Energy for my Neighbour Programme,

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

(WCC).

Education and personal life

A national of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

(and later also of

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

), he holds a B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Nuclear Engineering from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

(MIT). He is married and has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasztor, Janos 1955 births Hungarian diplomats Swiss people of Hungarian descent MIT School of Engineering alumni Hungarian officials of the United Nations Living people