Billionaire Bloomberg appointed as envoy for climate action

World
Europe

The United Nations appointed billionaire Michael R. Bloomberg as special envoy for climate action.

Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General announcing Bloomberg’s appointment on Monday said: “Your (Bloomberg) permanent action, mobilizing cities, but also businesses, states in the United States, countries around the world, has made an enormous difference and makes us believe that we will soon be running faster than climate change.”

“We will soon be starting to defeat climate change that the Paris Agreement can be fully implemented, but with an enhanced ambition,” he added.

The appointment of Bloomberg, a former mayor of New York, is an effort to mobilize stronger and more ambitious action towards 2020 climate targets during The 2019 Climate Summit.

The special envoy will leverage efforts in key areas of the Climate Summit to encourage rapid and enhanced implementation of the Paris Agreement in the context of sustainable development, UN maintained in a press statement.

A staunch climate change activist, Bloomberg has invested millions of US dollar towards reducing emissions and took actions recommended to mitigate global warming.

His foundation has spent 164 million US dollars in a campaign against coal that led to the closure of more than half the US coal-fired plants. Last year, he pumped in 50 million US dollars to extend the campaign to the other countries.

According to the Paris Agreement, nations have to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius but make efforts to keep it below 1.5 compared with pre-industrial era.

Donald Trump shocked the world last June with his announcement to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and also termed climate change as a “hoax.”

Governor Jerry Brown of California and Bloomberg unfazed by Trump’s announcement continued to work with state and non-state entities to implement recommendations suggested by Paris Agreement.

They also launched America’s Pledge initiative on Monday, which will aggregate and quantify the actions of states, cities and businesses and other non-national actors in the US to drive down their greenhouse gas emissions.

“Today we’re sending a clear message to the world that America’s states, cities, and businesses are moving forward with our country’s commitments under the Paris Agreement – with or without Washington,” said Governor Jerry Brown during the launch of “America Pledge ahead of COP23.

In 2015, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos, announced a partnership, “Breakthrough Energy Coalition” to combat climate change.