Indian appointed to high-level UN climate change post

Indian appointed to high-level UN climate change post

United Nations, May 15 (PTI) A senior Indian official has been appointed as the deputy executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), under which
the landmark Paris agreement was negotiated and adopted(बातचीत और अपनाया). Ovais Sarmad, 57, was appointed to the post at the assistant secretary-general level by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said Stephane Djuarric, the spokesperson for Guterres. The appointment has been made after consultation with the Conference of Parties through its Bureau.

Sarmad will succeed (सफल होने के) Richard Kinley of Canada.

His appointment comes at a crucial(महत्वपूर्ण) time when most of the countries have ratified the Paris Climate Agreement and the US President, Donald Trump, has threatened to scrap the pact. Sarmad holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Hyderabads Osmania University, and professional certification in management accountancy from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in London. Sarmad currently serves as chief of staff to the director general of the International Organisation for Migration. "He brings to the position nearly 27 years of experience with IOM, where he worked in several policy and management areas to strengthen the organisations operational effectiveness in close consultation (परामर्श) with IOM member-states.

"He was instrumental in the establishment of the organisations Ethics and Conduct Office and was a key team member negotiating the agreement which brought the IOM into the United Nations System," said Djuarric.''

Sarmad joined IOM in 1990, in Geneva, where he served notably as chief of budget, director of resource management, director of the Global Administrative Centre and chief of Mission to the Philippines.

About United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

In 1992, countries joined an international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as a framework for international cooperation to combat climate change by limiting average global temperature increases and the resulting climate change, and coping with impacts that were, by then, inevitable.

By 1995, countries launched negotiations to strengthen the global response to climate change, and, two years later, adopted the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol legally binds developed country Parties to emission reduction targets. The Protocol’s first commitment period started in 2008 and ended in 2012. The second commitment period began on 1 January 2013 and will end in 2020.

There are now 197 Parties to the Convention and 192 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.