Achim Steiner read philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) at the University of Oxford as well as development economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London. His international career began in the field of environmental and development cooperation, including at GIZ, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), where he was Director General from 2001 to 2006, the World Commission on Dams, which he led as Secretary General, and as Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations (2006–2016).

From 2017 to 2025, he headed the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and played a key role in shaping the global agenda on sustainable development, climate protection and the eradication of poverty.

Today, Achim Steiner is Senior Fellow of the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford and Chair of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference. In both roles, he is involved in issues relating to international security policy, economic transformation and future models for international cooperation.

In January 2026, he was appointed to the German Council for Sustainable Development by Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

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