United Nations climate chief Yvo De Boer plans to join KPMG in July as governments around the world face uncertainty over the prospects of establishing a global market for carbon credit trading.
KPMG has been building its global sustainability services practice advising business clients in areas such as corporate responsibility reporting, carbon valuation, emissions trading, and managing carbon emissions across the supply chain. De Boer, as executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, had tried to secure an agreement at the Copenhagen climate change summit last year for countries to commit to reductions in greenhouse gases. However, the summit generally only resulted in vague commitments from individual countries, with no binding agreement. He was scheduled to finish his term in September, but will instead be leaving on July 1.
He has also acted as vice chairman of the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development and worked with the World Business Council on Sustainable Development. He has led the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat since 2006. Before that, he was extensively involved in European Union environmental policy as deputy Director General of the Dutch Environment Ministry.
At KPMG, the 55-year-old will work as a global advisor on climate and sustainability and will also work with several universities.He will work with KPMG member firms in advising business, governments and other organizations on sustainability issues.
I have always maintained that while governments provide the necessary framework, the real solutions must come from business, he said in a statement quoted by Dow Jones Newswires. Copenhagen did not provide us with a clear agreement in legal terms, but the political commitment and sense of direction toward a low-emissions world are overwhelming. This calls for new partnerships with the business sector and I now have the chance to make this happen.
He plans to assist at an upcoming summit in Mexico before taking his new position at KPMG.
