Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Schellnhuber is a German climate researcher. His work focuses on climate impact research and earth system analysis. He is one of the world’s most renowned climate experts. Until September 2018, he was Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), which he founded in 1992 and which became one of the world’s most respected institutes in the field of climate research under his leadership. From 2009 to 2016, he was Chairman of the German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU). Since December 2023, he has been Director of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenburg near Vienna. He is a long-standing member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).