Klaus Töepfer was the former Federal Environment Minister of Germany and a candidate of German Chancellor. He is widely regarded as the pioneer of environment policy. The pioneering environmental policies he proposed include life cycle economy and "green dot" packaging recycling system. He made important contribution to the successful holding of the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. He also led the negotiation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the establishment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).