Hoesung Lee is Vice Chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and dean of the college of environment at Keimyung University, Korea. The area of his research and teaching is climate change, energy, and environmental economics.
He was elected co-chairman of IPCC Working Group III from 1992-1997. In that capacity, he coordinated the development of the IPCC Second Assessment Report on the aspect of economic and social dimensions of climate change, which provided scientific basis for the Kyoto Protocol. He served as the lead author and review editor for the Third Assessment and the recent Fourth Assessment Reports.
He was the first president of the Korea Energy Economics Institute, a government's energy policy research agency. Dr. Lee served as president of the International Association of Energy Economics, a professional society headquartered in the United States with a mission of advancing energy economics with 3500 members in academics, governments, and business in over 75 countries.
He was senior advisor to the Minister of Energy and Resources and the Minister of Environment. Dr. Lee served on the board of numerous corporations and organizations both domestic and international, including Hyundai Corporation and IGES. He has published research articles and books on energy economics and climate change policy.