Isramart : Yvo de Boer To Step Down As UNFCCC Chief

Isramart news:
The UN’s climate chief, Yvo de Boer, is resigning as of July.

De Boer told the AP he will step down July 1 and join the consulting firm KPMG.

He said the Bali conference, which set a road map to reach a treaty in Copenhagen last December, was the high point of his tenure. De Boer was known to be disappointed with Copenhagen’s failure to reach agreement, but he said today the Copenhagen Accord did create “a solid foundation” for a future treaty.

De Boer has held the position of Executive Secretary to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change for nearly four years. He was far more active in public than any of his three predecessors, speaking regularly in public forums and becoming a world voice for the UN process.

Alden Meyer, climate expert with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said de Boer, a career Dutch diplomat, had made clear from the beginning that the UN position was “term-limited.” So his announcement is not a total surprise. But his putting a date on his departure, and having a new job lined up, were new today.

Meyer said there are many experience diplomats who could succeed him, but given UN politics, it’s most likely to be a diplomat from the G77 less developed nations. The last three UNFCCC secretaries have been from developed nations.

Todd Stern, U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change, reacted to de Boer's departure saying “Yvo de Boer has been an enormously dedicated leader in the fight against global climate change and has made a major contribution in advancing that effort. We appreciate his commitment, his wisdom and his determination to move the world in the right direction. We know he will continue to fight the good fight and wish him well in his new endeavor.”