Michael Renner, Senior Researcher

Contact Information
Department: Research
Title: Senior Researcher
Email: mrenner@worldwatch.org
Phone: (631) 615-4845

Michael Renner is a Senior Rseearcher at the Worldwatch Institute. His work has principally focused on two topics--the connections between environment and employment (green jobs/green economy), and linkages between the environment and peace and conflict. Michael currently serves as co-director, with Erik Assadourian, for the 2012 edition of State of the World and manages the Institute's Vital Signs series, an online and print publication. In 2007-2008, Michael was the lead author of a report on green jobs commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme, and he is also consulting for the International Labour Organization and the International Renewable Energy Agency on this topic. Michael has given presentations on green jobs around the world. In 2005-2007, Michael directed Worldwatch’s Global Security Project, which included the 2005 edition of State of the World, and a 2007 report on natural disasters and peacemaking.

Prior to joining Worldwatch in 1987, Michael was a Corliss Lamont Fellow at Columbia University, and a research associate at the World Policy Institute in New York City. Born and raised in Germany, Michael received his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Konstanz in southern Germany, and a Master's degree in international relations from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He spent a year as an intern at the UN Center on Transnational Corporations in 1979-80.

Michael is a Senior Advisor to the Institute for Environmental Security (The Hague/Brussels), serves on the board of the Global Policy Forum, and is a member of the International Program Advisory Committee to CoCooN (Conflict and Cooperation over Natural Resources in Developing Countries), Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research.
 
Languages Spoken:
  • English (fluent);
  • German (native language);
  • Dutch (fair);
  • French (passive).
Media Experience:
 
Michael's writing has appeared in a variety of print and online publications, including the Christian Science Monitor, International Herald Tribune, Le Monde Diplomatique, El País, and Frankfurter Rundschau.  He has appeared on radio and television programs including the BBC, CNN, NPR, Voice of America, and others.

Speaking Engagements:

Michael has addressed a broad variety of audiences, including high- and mid-level policymakers, business and labor groups, academic settings, and broad public audiences.
 
Speaking engagements have included meetings organized by the Council on Foreign Relations, U.S. State Department, European Parliament, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Wilton Park/British Foreign Office, MacArthur Foundation, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Geneva Centre on Security Policy, Global Development Network, Norwegian Social Forum, Confederation of Spanish Trade Unions, Carbon Forum Asia, World Bank, and a broad variety of UN venues.  

 

Selected Publications