UN climate chief Figueres hails appointment of Bloomberg as special envoy

The United Nations’ climate chief Christiana Figueres has hailed the appointment of Michael Bloomberg as the UN’s special envoy on cities and climate change and he is set to play a central role in the development of a global emissions reduction deal.

Bloomberg, the former Mayor of New York, was appointed by Ban Ki-moon last month and will work closely with Figueres, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Bloomberg’s leadership on climate action while Mayor of New York make him an ideal figure for the role as the UN attempts to push through a globally binding treaty to reduce emissions in 2015.

Figueres said of Bloomberg: “He is a very well connected individual in addition to being the former mayor of New York. Because he understands the issues so well and has lived through them, he is probably the best communicator of the need to act quickly.”

Bloomberg introduced the PlaNYC 2030 in 2007 with the aim of mitigating and limiting the effects of climate change. The programme set a goal of cutting emissions 30 per cent by 2030 through a number of initiatives, including the introduction of more bike lanes, hybrid taxis and retrofitting municipal buildings to improve their energy efficiency.

Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the UN, has made a series of high profile appointments who have experience and expertise on environmental issues as he attempts to foster the political will necessary to the signing of a climate change treaty in Paris in 2015.

Ban also appointed the former leaders of Ghana and Norway as special envoys for climate change at the end of 2013, and they will engage with heads of state to raise the political ambition.