Moritz Reese

Prof. Dr. Moritz Reese serves as Professor of European Environmental Law at the Law Faculty of Leipzig University and as Head of the Department for Environmental and Planning Law at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Germany. With a legal background in environmental policy and over 17 years at UFZ, he bridges environmental law with governance frameworks for sustainable development.

• Leipzig University Professorship (2025)
• UFZ Department Head since 2008
• Prior legal consulting at European Environmental Advisory Councils
• Co-editor of the Journal for European Environmental and Planning Law

His research focuses on European environmental governance, particularly in water law, climate adaptation law, and bioeconomy regulations. He leads the KomUR network on future environmental law challenges and contributes to comparative legal frameworks through his Comparative Commentaries on European Environmental Law (CCEL) project.

Recent publications analyze legal foundations for blue-green infrastructure (Leipziger BlauGrün), climate adaptation law synergies, and EU raw material policies for green transitions. His work integrates interpretive policy analysis with political ecology.

Scientific contributions include:

• Post-doctoral scholarship from the German Scientific Association (2006-2007)
• Editorial roles at JEEPL and Zeitschrift für Umweltrecht
• Advisory work for the German Federal Environmental Agency

As a mentor, he supervises PhD researchers like Theresa Herdlitschka and Henry Hempel in projects examining EU governance narratives and chemical policy assessments. His work at UFZ connects with international initiatives like the European Union Biodiversity Strategy and ALTER-Net collaborations.