UN chief names climate change adviser

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday announced the appointment of Janos Pasztor of Hungary as senior adviser to the UN secretary-general on climate change.

In his new role, Pasztor will support the efforts of the secretary-general to mobilize world leaders and all sectors of society to implement the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement, reached in the French capital by the end of last year, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters here.

"The secretary-general expresses his deep gratitude for Mr. Pasztor's dedicated service and leadership over the past quarter of a century with the United Nations on the key global challenges of climate change, energy and sustainability," Dujarric said.

Also on Friday, the secretary-general announced the appointment of a group of 10 experts to support the Technology Facilitation Mechanism, which was launched at the UN Sustainable Development Summit on Sept. 25, 2015.

The Technology Facilitation Mechanism (TFM) is meant to support the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of 17 targets adopted by world leaders in September 2015 in a bid to end poverty, achieve gender equality, fight inequalities and tackle climate change.

"The 10-member group consists of representatives of civil society, the private sector and the scientific community," the spokesman said. "They will advise the UN Inter-agency Task Team, in particular on preparations for the annual meetings of the multi-stakeholder forum and on support for the development and operationalization of the online platform." Endit