Dieter Rothenberger

Head of Water Policy Programme, GIZ

Dieter Rothenberger

Head of Water Policy Programme, GIZ

Biography

Dieter Rothenberger has more almost 25 years work experience in the water and environmental sectors. As an ecological economist who studied at Augsburg University, Heriot Watt University Edinburgh and the London School of Economics, he worked the first 10 years in infrastructure, namely for the German multi utility company MVV Energie, the Swiss water research institute EAWAG and the Financial Cooperation division of the Swiss Government (SECO).

Since more than 13 years, Dieter is with GIZ, as resident technical advisor and Head of Water, and Climate Change and Climate Finance Programmes in Jordan and Grenada. In Jordan he was in charge for the first energy efficiency project in the water sector, which included mitigation measures through innovative approaches like involving the private sector in Energy Performance Contracting for refurbishment and operation for water pumpigm stations.

Since 2019, he is the Head of GIZ’s Sector Programme ‘Water Policy – Innovations for Resilience (WaPo-RE)’, which advises the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on new and upcoming trends in the water sector – since a few years with a strong focus on the linkages between water and climate.

Before moving back to Germany, he gained working experience amongst others in Ukraine, Switzerland, Turkey, Tanzania, Ghana, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and the Caribbean.

His areas of expertise include water utility management, infrastructure finance, water stewardship, climate change adaptation, climate resilience and climate finance, as well as policy and institutional reforms.