UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced his intention to appoint Patricia Espinosa (Mexico) as the next Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and Erik Solheim (Norway) as the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
3 May 2016: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced his intention to appoint Patricia Espinosa (Mexico) as the next Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and Erik Solheim (Norway) as the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
Espinosa has served as Ambassador of Mexico to Germany since 2012. From 2006 to 2012, she served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico. She will replace Christiana Figueres (Costa Rica), who has served in the position since 2010.
Solheim currently serves as the Chair of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a position he has held since 2013. From 2007 to 2012, he served as Norway’s Minister for the Environment and International Development. He will replace Achim Steiner, who has held the position since 2006. [UN Press Release] [UNFCCC Executive Secretary Biography] [UNFCCC Press Release] [UNEP Press Release] [UNEP Executive Director Biography]