Michael R. Bloomberg Named United Nations Special Envoy for Climate Action

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced today the appointment of Michael R. Bloomberg of the United States as his Special Envoy for Climate Action.

Michael R. Bloomberg will support the Secretary-General’s climate strategy and efforts toward the planned 2019 Climate Summit at UN Headquarters.  The 2019 Climate Summit will mobilize stronger and more ambitious action towards 2020 climate targets.  The Special Envoy will leverage efforts in key areas of the Climate Summit to encourage rapid and enhanced implementation of the Paris Agreement in the context of sustainable development.

The Secretary-General will be engaging and inviting leaders from Governments, businesses, finance and civil society organizations with a view to bending the emissions curve by 2020 and accelerating the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The Secretary-General and Mr. Bloomberg share the perspective that the emissions gap needs to be closed soon to limit global temperature increase to below 2 degrees Celsius. Climate Action, including those by cities and sub-national actors, play an essential role in driving ambition on climate change.

Mr. Bloomberg, alongside Governor Jerry Brown of California, also launched the America’s Pledge initiative, which will aggregate and quantify the actions of states, cities and businesses and other non-national actors in the United States to drive down their greenhouse gas emissions, consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Mr. Bloomberg served as the 108th Mayor of the City of New York from 2002 to 2013.  He began his career in 1966 at Salomon Brothers, and launched the financial news and information company Bloomberg LP in 1981.  In 2007, Mayor Bloomberg addressed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bali, Indonesia. Mr. Bloomberg was appointed as UN Special Envoy on Cities and Climate Change on 31 January 2014 by the then Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. In December 2015, Mr. Bloomberg was appointed by the Chair of the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The Task Force – which has finished its work – has developed voluntary, climate-related financial disclosures for use by companies in providing information to lenders, insurers, investors and other stakeholders.