Yvo de Boer: Private sector bound
Yvo de Boer, the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, announced this morning his intention to step down on July 1 and work for the global consultancy KPMG. The KPMG announcement is here.
His resignation comes as confidence in the ability of countries to come up with a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol is at a low ebb, following the failure to reach an agreement in Copenhagen last December. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon will appoint de Boer’s successor in consultation with the UNFCCC, Bloomberg reports.
De Boer, 55, who has been led the UNFCCC since September 2006, said in a statement, “I have always maintained that while governments provide the necessary policy framework, the real solutions must come from business.”
He continued:
Copenhagen did not provide us with a clear agreement in legal terms, but the political commitment and sense of direction toward a low-emissions world are overwhelming. This calls for new partnerships with the business sector and I now have the chance to help make this happen.
De Boer with be the global adviser on climate and sustainability at the KPMG.
While this move is understandable (anybody would be driven crazy by the gong shows that are UN climate summits) de Boer’s statement undermines the rationale for a government solution to climate change. Expect the carbon markets to respond accordingly.
Interestingly, KPMG’s press statement contains a similar quote to the UNFCCC’s statement, but modifies the last sentence to read, “…with KPMG I now have a chance to help make that happen.”
De Boer said he will stay on to help coordinate the next climate change conference in Cancun, Mexico in November.