UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday announced the appointment of Luis Alfonso de Alba of Mexico as his special envoy for the 2019 Climate Summit, Xinhua reports.
De Alba will provide leadership, guidance and strategic direction toward the Climate Summit scheduled for September 2019 in New York, said UN Chief's press office.
De Alba will be responsible for cooperation with key strategic climate change leaders, including governments and coalitions, to galvanize climate action and leadership for the summit, which focuses on building momentum for enhancing national ambition and accelerating implementation of climate action, toward 2020 and beyond as set out in the Paris Agreement.
De Alba led negotiations for the 2010 UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun, Mexico as his country's special representative for climate change. A diplomat since 1983, he took up various functions at the Mexican Foreign Ministry.
The Climate Summit, which will be held on the margins of next year's high-level week of the UN General Assembly, is expected to bring together heads of state and government, business leaders, academics and scientists, young people, civil society representatives, local leaders and the UN system.