Christian Klassert

Dr. Christian Klassert is a researcher at the Department of Economics, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig, Germany, where he serves as co-speaker of the Working Group Social-Science Water Research. His work spans international water security projects focusing on Jordan, India, and Germany.

• Current Position: Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Economics, UFZ (since 09/2021)
• Previous Positions: Researcher at UFZ (2017-2021), Researcher at Leipzig University (2014-2017), Research Assistant at UFZ Bioenergy Department (2011-2014), Visiting Postdoctoral Scholar at Stanford University (2022-2023)

Dr. Klassert holds a PhD in Economics from Leipzig University (2021), where he received summa cum laude honors for his thesis on decentralized private water service provision in intermittent supply systems in Jordan. He also earned a European Master in Law and Economics and LL.M. from the Universities of Hamburg, Ghent, and Haifa, and a German academic law degree from Mainz University where he ranked second in his state-wide examination.

His research combines coupled human-natural systems modeling, agent-based modeling, and econometrics to assess water security impacts of unequal urban water access and agricultural droughts. Klassert contributes to major international projects including the Jordan Water Project, FUSE Project in India's Upper Bhima Basin, and agricultural drought adaptation research through UFZ Graduate Schools AGRI-TRANSFORM and Thirsty Cities. His interdisciplinary approach integrates economic, social, and environmental dimensions of water security challenges.

Analysis of his publication record reveals a strong focus on urban water security, particularly examining informal water markets, household water demand under intermittent supply, and the water-energy nexus. His work increasingly incorporates climate change impacts on water resources and agricultural systems, with a growing emphasis on equity dimensions of water access and infrastructure planning. The geographic scope of his research spans the Middle East (particularly Jordan), South Asia (India), and Europe (Germany).

Dr. Klassert received the UFZ Research Award in 2022 for his interdisciplinary work assessing future water crisis risks in Jordan. He serves as a reviewer for prestigious journals including Nature Water, One Earth, and Water Resources and Economics, and co-chairs the Working Group Human Systems Modeling within the MultiSector Dynamics community of practice.

His research is supported through multiple international projects including the UFZ Graduate Schools AGRI-TRANSFORM and Thirsty Cities, Future Earth project NexusFootprints, Belmont Forum projects FUSE and Jordan Water Project, and BMUB project JordanCap. These projects involve extensive international collaboration with research institutions in Germany, the United States, Jordan, and India.

Klassert's work is conducted within the Department of Economics at UFZ, which focuses on interdisciplinary environmental economics research. His projects often involve close collaboration with stakeholders through workshops and participatory approaches, particularly in the Food-Water-Energy Nexus research in Amman, Jordan and Pune, India.