In a statement Friday, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres announced that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been reappointed as a special envoy for climate change.
Bloomberg was first appointed as a UN special envoy on cities and climate change in 2014. In 2018, Bloomberg was given the new title of special envoy for climate action but left the role one year later to enter the Democratic presidential race.
"Mr. Bloomberg will support the work of the Secretary-General in growing and strengthening the coalition of governments, companies, cities and financial institutions committing to net-zero before 2050 in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement," states a UN press release.
“The special envoy will engage Government officials and members of the private sector and civil society to finalize and implement plans, particularly in high-emitting countries, industries and sectors, to vastly accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy,” the release adds.
In a Friday tweet, Bloomberg said he was “honored” to serve as the UN special envoy.
— Mike Bloomberg (@MikeBloomberg) February 5, 2021
“I'm honored to serve as @UN Special Envoy for Climate Ambition & Solutions, and the first Global Ambassador for #RacetoZero & #RacetoResilience. Climate change is a global challenge, and I'm looking forward to continuing to accelerate progress,” the billionaire tweeted Friday.
Former US president Donald Trump withdrew the US from the Paris agreement in 2017.
The Paris Agreement is an international deal that was created within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2015. Countries that are part of the deal set limits on their greenhouse gas emissions, the primary cause of man-made climate change.
In January, Biden signed an executive order to have the US rejoin the Paris climate agreement.
"The window for meaningful action is now very narrow – we have no time to waste," Dr. M. Sanjayan, chief executive of Conservation International, an environmental advocacy group said after Biden’s announcement, NPR reported. "President Biden's action today is certainly a step in the right direction."
