Press Conference on Resignation of Head of United Nations Climate Change Convention

The resignation of Yvo de Boer as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change would not substantially disturb ongoing negotiations leading up to the climate change conference in Mexico later this year, Janos Pasztor, Director of the Secretary-General’s Climate Change Support Team, told correspondents this morning.

At the outset of the press conference at Headquarters, Marie Okabe, Deputy Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, read out a statement attributable to the Spokesperson, which states:

“The Secretary-General has taken note of the announcement by Mr. Yvo de Boer this morning of his decision to resign from his post as Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change).

“Mr. De Boer spoke to the Secretary-General in advance of his decision and was informed that, while the Secretary-General regretted the decision, he would respect it.

“The Secretary-General has expressed his appreciation to Mr. De Boer for his strong commitment and professional support to the UNFCCC negotiations, and for guiding the UNFCCC Secretariat since September 2006.  Mr. De Boer’s contribution during this crucial period, encompassing the negotiations in Nairobi, Bali, Poznan and Copenhagen, will be well remembered, and he will be difficult to replace.

“The Secretary-General expressed his intention to embark soon on the task of identifying and recruiting the new Executive Secretary.   He will consult the Bureau of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties in that process.”

Mr. Pasztor said that Governments were preparing for continuing the negotiations and were focusing on implementing existing agreements.  The Bureau of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties would meet Monday, 22 February, in Bonn, Germany, to decide on the number of meetings this year and to ensure that the follow-up conference to Copenhagen, to take place in Mexico from 29 November to 10 December, would be a success.  Last week, a joint United Nations team of colleagues from New York Headquarters and the Bonn secretariat had had excellent discussions with Mexican Government officials in Mexico.  He was confident that preparations for the conference were proceeding well.

Answering correspondents’ questions, Mr. Pasztor said that Mr. De Boer had informed the Secretary-General of his decision two days ago during a telephone conversation.  He had informed the Secretary-General that he had been considering the decision for some time and that he had finally reached a conclusion.  Mr. De Boer’s decision was based purely on his desire to do something else in the private sector and academia.  He had not informed anybody else in the Bureau of his decisions before informing the Secretary-General, although he might have expressed some personal reflections on his future beforehand.  The decision itself, however, was a surprise.

That decision, he continued in response to queries, had nothing to do with recent controversies in the media about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).  “Absolutely nothing” had been produced that would call into question the fundamental IPCC conclusions on the issue of climate change and its impact.  Mistakes had been made and recognized, and needed to be corrected.  The fundamental science of climate change, however, had not changed in any way.

Asked about the recruitment process for a new Executive Secretary, he said that the timing of Mr. De Boer’s resignation would allow the Secretary-General to appoint his successor in time to ensure that the negotiation process for the Mexico conference would not be disturbed.  The Secretary-General today had started the recruitment process, which would take some months.  In consultation with the Bureau of the Conference of Parties, he would choose the most competent candidate, not necessarily from any particular region.

He said the Secretary-General had no names in mind yet, but was expected to identify Mr. De Boer’s successor well before 1 July.  Meanwhile, the Secretary-General had full confidence in the competency of the Secretariat and the UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary to support the preparations for the Mexico follow-up.  Mr. Pasztor did not expect the resignation to cause the negotiation any substantial disturbance.

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For information media • not an official record