PACJA lauds appointment of Ibrahim Thiaw as head of UNFCCC

Kigali, Rwanda: Pan African Climate Justice Alliance congratulates the appointment of Ibrahim Thiaw this week as the interim executive secretary of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. With the appointment of the Mauritian diplomat, PACJA hopes to further the climate justice agenda at the highest level possible.

In a statement issued from Kigali, Rwanda on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, PACJA, Africa’s largest coalition of civil society groups said it hopes that the appointment of Thiaw will bring issues pertinent to Africa closer home in the UNFCCC discussion processes.

PACJA is leading Africa’s clamour for the financing loss and damage within the UNFCC mechanisms, honouring of the Climate Finance promises of USD100 billion each year, and consideration of Africa as a region with special needs and circumstances.

Thiaw will take over the role when Patricia Espinosa, who has been in the job six years, steps down next month and “until the selection process for the new executive secretary is completed,” a letter to parties

Since 2019, Thiaw has served as the Under Secretary General of the United Nations and UNCCD Executive Secretary.

He has versed experience in sustainable development, environmental governance and natural resource management and has strived to create a nexus between land and climate change leading to global efforts to build drought resilience and improve food security, gender equality and land rights for vulnerable populations. 

He holds a degree in forestry and spent ten years in the rural development ministry of Mauritania, a large sparsely-populated nation which spans much of the west of the Sahara desert.

Before joining UNCCD, Thiaw served as Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for the Sahel, where he supported the implementation of the United Nations Integrated Strategy for the Sahel (UNISS) and the development of a UN Support Plan for the Sahel.  

From 2013 to 2018 he served as Assistant Secretary General and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In this role, he shaped UNEP’s strategic vision and mandate, oversaw the development and implementation of the mid-term strategy, and strengthened collaboration with governments and global environmental governing bodies.