WUNRN
MARY ROBINSON APPOINTED UN
SECRETARY-GENERAL'S SPECIAL ENVOY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE
Former Irish President Mary Robinson attends the
annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. January 26, 2013.
REUTERS/Pascal Lauener
–
July 15, 2014
Robinson has long advocated for "climate justice", and has her own
foundation that works to secure justice for people vulnerable to the impacts of
climate change who are often forgotten - the poor, disempowered and
marginalised across the world.
In a statement issued on Monday, Ban said Robinson would build
on this work as his special envoy for climate change, engaging heads of state
and government to raise ambition on tackling climate change ahead of the
September summit and advising him based on her consultations.
"The summit will be an important milestone to mobilise political
commitment for the conclusion of a global (climate) agreement by 2015, as well
as to spur enhanced action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build
climate-resilient communities," the statement said.
Robinson, who has also worked as the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights,
will step down from her role as U.N. Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region
of Africa.
Robinson accepted the new post with immediate effect, and will continue as a
climate envoy up to the U.N. climate conference to be held in
She said Ban's focus on climate change and "his faith in my capacity to
help make progress on the challenges it presents" was "an
affirmation" of the work of The Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice
(MRFCJ).
"Our work on climate justice emphasises the urgency of action on climate
change from a people’s perspective and I intend to take this approach in my new
mandate as Special Envoy for Climate Change,” Robinson added in a statement.
At an event on the sidelines of the U.N. climate talks in
She said 2015 was an unprecedented year "when we have to do two huge steps
for future generations" - agree a new set of Sustainable Development Goals
and put a global cap on greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet.
"We need to make (climate change) the biggest issue humankind faces,
because if we don't we lose," she said.