Multilateral Challenges and Opportunities

Janos Pasztor 

MIT ’78, SM ’79

Executive Director of the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative (C2G)

former UN Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Change

As geopolitical crises and pandemics come and go, the Climate Crisis continues and will not suddenly go away. Global level emission reduction plans currently fall considerably short of reaching the agreed goals. Meanwhile, the pandemic-induced 7% global emissions reduction provides no economic solution – yet this annual reduction level is what we need. No country can solve the crisis alone. Meet Janos Pasztor, MIT ’78, SM ’79, Executive Director of the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative (C2G) and former UN Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Change, to learn about the challenges and opportunities the world faces as we move towards climate-friendly, sustainable development.

This is an MIT Club of DC program.

Janos Pasztor (Born in Budapest, 1955) is currently Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and is the Executive Director of the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative (C2G). He has over 4 decades of work experience in the areas of energy, environment, climate change and sustainable development. Before taking up his current assignment he was UN Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Change in New York under Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Previously, he was Acting Executive Director for Conservation (2014) and Policy and Science Director (2012-2014) at WWF-International. Pasztor directed the UNSG’s Climate Change Support Team (2008-2010) and later was Executive Secretary of the UNSG’s High-level Panel on Global Sustainability (2010-2012). In 2007 he directed the Geneva-based UN Environment Management Group (EMG). During 1993-2006 he worked, and over time held different responsibilities at the Climate Change Secretariat (UNFCCC), initially in Geneva, Switzerland and later in Bonn, Germany.

Other assignments included: in the Secretariat of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit ’92); Stockholm Environment Institute; United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); Secretariat of the World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission); the Beijer Institute; and the World Council of Churches. Janos has BSc and MSc degrees in Nuclear Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

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