The United Nations, UN has appointed the head of the UN body to combat desertification Ibrahim Thiaw as interim executive secretary of the UN Climate Change.
Thiaw, a Mauritanian diplomat is expected to take over from Patricia Espinosa, who will step down next month after spending six years on the job until the selection process for the new executive secretary is completed. While Espinosa’s last day will be 15 July, Thiaw is expected to resume work on 17 July.
Thiaw who has served as the executive secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) since January 2019has called for land management to be more closely linked to climate action.
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Before his new appointment, Thiaw was the UN Secretary-General’s special adviser for the Sahel region of Africa and the assistant secretary-general of the UN Environment Programme.
Thiaw who holds a degree in forestry has spent ten years in the rural development ministry of Mauritania, a large sparsely-populated nation which spans much of the west of the Sahara desert.
Although Espinosa was rumoured to have stepped down following her second term as climate chief, the UN was slow to start the recruitment process with the job advert only published on 13 May.
Story was adapted from Climate Home News.
