Lorents Lorentsen is currently Director for Environment of the OECD. He combines a prominent background as researcher in environmental economics, econometric modelling and macroeconomics with extensive experience as manager and economic policy advisor.

Prior to joining OECD in June 2003, he served for eleven years at the Ministry of Finance, Norway. His position as Acting Secretary-General succeeded four years as Deputy Secretary-General, where he led groups on a number of environmental and pension policy issues, after heading the Department of Policy Analysis and Planning, the Economics Policy Department and the Budget Department. Before joining the Ministry of Finance, Mr. Lorentsen served as Director of Research, Head of Unit and researcher in the Research Department of Statistics Norway from 1974 to 1991. He was responsible for work on natural resource accounts, and analyses of energy consumption and pollution integrated in macroeconomic forecasting.

He has written many publications on issues such as natural resource accounting, modelling of energy markets, multi-sectoral growth models, and on integrating environmental issues in macroeconomic modelling and analysis.