Peter Kristensen is a Lead Environmental Specialist at the World Bank and has more than 30 years of professional experience in coastal-marine environmental management, climate change, and biodiversity. He joined the World Bank in 2003 and has worked in the Africa region, Global Environment Department, and presently in the Planet Department of the Europe and Central Asia region.

Peter’s professional work has focused on advancing the management of coastal and ocean resources and action on the ground through investment and policy operations and frontier analytics and knowledge development. He has conducted operational work on protected areas management, extractive industries and environment, locust control, and pesticide management.

He is currently working on the blue economy and state of the biophysical environment in the Black and Caspian Seas, climate resilience in Central Asia, and open to engaging with partners and existing processes to accelerate the generation of results on the ground.

Previously, Peter led the West Africa Coastal Areas Management Program (WACA), which is a transformative response to the urgency of managing coastal erosion, flooding, and pollution using marine spatial planning, economics, and finance to advance green, resilient, and inclusive development. Before that, Peter headed the Bank's work on oceans leading into the Rio+20 process and the Global Partnership for Oceans that was forged on the nexus of sustainable seafood and livelihoods, ocean habitats and biodiversity, and pollution reduction. He also worked as Sector Leader for Sustainable Development in West Africa.

Prior to the World Bank, Peter worked for the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Conservation International.

Peter holds an M.Sc. in Geology with a specialization in coastal geomorphology from the University of Aarhus, Denmark. He undertook research at the University of Patras, Greece. He is fluent in English, French, and Danish.