Press Release

Yvo de Boer Appointed to Head GGGI

Yvo de Boer will begin his term as GGGI Director-General on April 15, 2014

SEOUL – March 3, 2014: 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).

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. (Read the Korean Press Release)

“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 Løkke 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.”

Before joining the UNFCCC, Mr. De Boer served as vice-chair of the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development, and acted as an advisor to the Government of China and the World Bank. In 2011, he was appointed to chair the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Climate Change.

A Dutch national born in Vienna, Mr. de Boer has also served as Director for International Affairs of the Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment of the Netherlands. In this position, he was responsible for international policy, both in the context of the European Union, as well as broader international cooperation.

He also served as Deputy Director-General for Environmental Protection in the same ministry, as Head of the Climate Change Department. Early in his career, Mr. de Boer worked for the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (UN-HABITAT).

Mr. de Boer served as Vice-President of the Conference of Parties to UNFCCC and as Vice-Chair of the Commission on Sustainable Development. He has also been a member of various international bodies, including the Bureau of the Environment Policy Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Advisory Group of the Community Development Carbon Fund of the World Bank.

Mr. Rasmussen paid tribute to outgoing Director-General Mr. Bamsey. “We extend our best wishes for the future to Howard and thank him for his service to GGGI during a year in which he has overseen GGGI as it expanded operations to 34 projects in 20 countries and operationalized its mandate across all of its work streams.”

Mr. Jagdeo added, “Under Howard Bamsey, we have seen GGGI make great strides as an organization, putting in place a governance structure that provides a platform from which GGGI can achieve its world-leading aspirations to contribute to the new global economy.”

About GGGI

Based in Seoul, GGGI is a new intergovernmental organization founded to support and promote a new model of economic growth known as “green growth.” The organization partners with countries to help them build economies that grow strongly and are more efficient and sustainable in the use of natural resources, less carbon intensive, and more resilient to climate change. GGGI’s experts are already working with governments around the world, building their capacity and working collaboratively on green growth policies that can impact the lives of millions. To learn more, see www.gggi.org and visit us on Facebook and Twitter.