Gebru Jember Endalew appointed new chair of the LDC Group

IIED's climate change head has welcomed the appointment of the new chair of the Least Developed Countries Group, Gebru Jember Endalew.
Press release, 15 November 2016

On the announcement of a new chair for the Least Developed Countries Group, Clare Shakya, director of IIED's Climate Change research group said: "Today's announcement that Gebru Jember Endalew of Ethiopia has been appointed chair of the Least Developed Countries negotiating group on climate change is a welcome step. 

"Mr Endalew has a valuable opportunity to build on the strong work of outgoing chair, Tosi Mpanu Mpanu of the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

"This appointment is particularly significant as Ethiopia has taken important steps in taking climate action, both in order to reduce its carbon emissions and to build resilience to counter the impacts of climate change, integrating such efforts into its development programmes.

"The UN climate negotiations are at a crucial stage in Morocco, as governments focus on implementing measures needed to keep temperature rise to within 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. The continuing effective leadership of the LDC Group is key to ensuring the most vulnerable countries have a strong voice in talks to tackle climate change."

Contact

For more information contact Beth Herzfeld (beth.herzfeld@iied.org), IIED senior media officer – Tel: +44 (0)7557 658 482

Notes to editors

  • Mr Gebru Jember Endalew of Ethiopia will chair the climate negotiating group for 2017/18. The Least Developed Countries are 48 nations that are especially vulnerable to climate change but have done the least to cause the problem. They work together at the intergovernmental negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to demand that wealthier nations act in accordance with their responsibility for creating the problem and their capability for addressing it. 
  • IIED is a policy and action research organisation. It promotes sustainable development to improve livelihoods and protect the environments on which these livelihoods are built. IIED specialises in linking local priorities to global challenges. Based in London, UK it works in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific, with some of the world’s most vulnerable people to strengthen their voice in the decision-making arenas that affect them – from village councils to international conventions.

 

For more information or to request an interview, contact Jon Sharman: 
+44 7503 643332 or jon.sharman@iied.org