UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed former Irish president Mary Robinson as his special envoy for climate change.
She has a mandate to mobilize world leaders to take action at the climate summit the U.N. chief is hosting in September.
U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Monday the Sept. 23 summit will be “an important milestone” to mobilize political commitment for a global climate agreement by 2015 and spur action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build “climate resilient communities.”
Robinson, who was the U.N. high commissioner for human rights after serving as Ireland’s president from 1990-97, is currently finishing her appointment as Ban’s special envoy for the Great Lakes region of Africa.
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