Obersteiner has led large scale interdisciplinary research projects in the fields of integrated assessment of climate, energy, and land-use. He is the author of over 300 scientific papers covering a very wide range of science fields. He currently serves in the Climate Overshoot Commission and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)'s international resource panel. In addition, he is a lead convening author of two chapters of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and a steering member of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)'s Global Assessment Report.