UN chief appoints Hart as special adviser for climate action

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced the appointment of Selwin Hart of Barbados as special adviser to the secretary-general and assistant secretary-general of the climate action team.

According to a statement released on Tuesday, the special adviser will lead the climate action team to focus on member state support, coalition-building, UN system engagement and public mobilization necessary to implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and achieve a successful 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, United Kingdom in 2020, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Special Adviser will ensure delivery of the secretary-general''s priorities on climate change, from enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions, fossil fuel and coal phase-out, ensuring public and private finance shifts and the transitions necessary to shift the world''s energy, transportation, land and natural systems.

Hart is currently the executive director for the Caribbean region at the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).