Andrew Harper

Andrew Harper is the Special Advisor on Climate Action to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva. He is responsible for providing strategic guidance, oversight and expertise to shape UNHCR's response to the climate emergency.  

Prior to becoming the Special Advisor on Climate Action, Andrew has held a multitude of posts within UNHCR. He headed the Innovation Service, and before that was responsible for leading and coordinating the international response to the Syrian Crisis in Jordan. Some of the main achievements included responding to, at the time, the largest refugee crisis in the world, the establishment of the Zaatari and Azraq refugee camps, introducing biometric registration and the world’s largest biometric based refugee cash assistance programme. Prior to coming to Jordan, Andrew was Head of the Iraq Situation in Geneva, for six years as well as being the Emergency Focal Point for the Middle East and North Africa region for the Libyan Crisis in 2011.

He started his career overseas with the Australian Government in Turkey following the 1990 Iraq war. In 2014 Andrew was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia; he has also been the recipient of the 2013 ANZAC Peace Prize and the 2013 Sir Ron Wilson Human Rights Award. In 2016 he was awarded the Order of Istiqlal (Independence) by HM King Abdullah II of Jordan.