Yvo de Boer Appointed to Head GGGI

SEOUL, South Korea, March 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Yvo de Boer, the current KPMG Global Chairman of the Climate Change & Sustainability Services (CC&S) and former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), has been appointed as head of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).

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Succeeding Howard Bamsey, Mr. de Boer will lead the Seoul-based international organization as Director-General, serving a four-year term beginning on April 15, 2014.

"GGGI's work can add value to creating prosperity at a time when humans are experiencing challenges such as climate change, energy, water, population growth, and an increase in urbanization," Mr. de Boer said. "Multiple challenges faced by humanity can only be effectively addressed through the shift toward economic growth in a more sustainable manner."

At KPMG's CC&S, Mr. de Boer has been leading a team of some 600 professionals from 60 countries. He also advises corporate leaders on the impacts of rapid environmental, social and political change and how their businesses should respond to grasp opportunities and manage risks.

Prior to his post at KPMG, he served as Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC for nearly four years where he led the international process to respond to climate change. During his term in office, he played a vital role in raising the importance of climate change to the highest levels of political and media attention. He also brought over 100 world leaders to Copenhagen to the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference and secured commitments from more than 90 countries to reduce greenhouse emissions.

The appointment of Mr. de Boer became effective with unanimous agreement by the GGGI Assembly, GGGI's supreme governing body.

"I offer a warm welcome to Mr. de Boer," said Bharrat Jagdeo, President of the Assembly. "The people of the world's developing countries have the talents and the ideas needed to build a new global economy, which combines prosperity and environmental sustainability in a way that has never been done before. GGGI is a unique institution that exists to help harness these ideas and talents. Under Mr. de Boer's leadership, the next four years can prove to be a decisive period in our global efforts to build the new economy. As the unanimous vote to appoint Mr. de Boer illustrates, all our Members look forward to working with him."

His sentiments were echoed by GGGI Council Chair Lars Lokke Rasmussen. "We are pleased to welcome Yvo de Boer. His knowledge and experience is indisputable, and he is therefore the perfect figure to lead GGGI at this time," Mr. Rasmussen said. 

"He has an outstanding record of leadership -- in terms of achieving concrete results, engaging the private sector, and not least in mobilizing the global political process on climate change. Yvo de Boer comes to a young organization that has transformed from a Korean NGO to an international organization with 20 Member States, ODA eligibility, and UN observer status in a short time span. Now the organization must continue the journey -- and I cannot imagine a better figure to lead this."