Yvo de Boer, the UN's top climate change official, says he will resign after nearly four years in the post. His departure takes effect from 1 July, five months before 193 countries are due to reconvene in Mexico for another attempt at a global deal on climate. Nations failed to reach a binding deal at the Copenhagen meeting in December. Mr de Boer said he was announcing his departure now so that a successor could be found well before the Mexico meeting later this year. The former Dutch civil servant was appointed as executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2006. As the UN's climate negotiator, he was widely credited with raising the profile of climate change issues. In a statement, Mr de Boer said: "It was a difficult decision to make, but I believe the time is ripe for me to take on a new challenge." Mr De Boer said he would become a consultant on climate and sustainability issues for KPMG, a global accounting firm, and would be associated with several universities.

Subscribe

Subscribe to IEMA's newsletters to receive timely articles, expert opinions, event announcements, and much more, directly in your inbox.