Wolfgang Sachs

Who is Wolfgang Sachs?

Wolfgang Sachs is a researcher, writer and university teacher in the field of environment, development, and globalization.

He studied sociology and Catholic theology in Munich, Tübingen and Berkeley. He holds a master degree in sociology, a master degree in theology and a PhD in social sciences.

After a period as Assistant Professor at the Technical University of Berlin he joined the Society for International Development in Rome as a co-editor of the journal Development. 1987–1990 he was Visiting Professor at Pennsylvania State University and 1990–1993 Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities in Essen.

In 1992 he edited and co-authored the volume The Development Dictionary: A Guide to Knowledge as Power, by now a 'classic' in Development Studies, which has been translated into a dozen languages. A new edition, including a new preface, was published in 2010.

Since 1993 Sachs has worked at the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, and Energy In Germany, since 2009 as head of the Berlin Office. He served also as chairman of Greenpeace Germany from 1993 to 2001, and as a lead author in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change from 1999 to 2001. On behalf of the Heinrich Boell Foundation, Berlin, he chaired two international civil society expert panels, one to draft a memorandum for the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002 and the other to carry out a Dialogue / Report on multilateral trade rules for sustainable markets in agriculture. He is also Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the annual fair "Terra Futura" in Florence, Italy a Curator of the annual "Toblach Talks" in Toblach, Italy, and a co-organizer of the annual "Spiekeroog Climate Talks" on the island of Spiekeroog, Germany. Sachs is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of ATTAC.