Bloomberg reappointed UN climate envoy 

The leader of the United Nations has reappointed former New York City mayor and 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg as his special envoy on climate ambition and solutions. 

A Friday statement from the U.N. said that in the role, Bloomberg will work to strengthen the group of governments, companies, cities and financial institutions that are working to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.

“As Special Envoy for Climate Ambition and Solutions, Mr. Bloomberg’s work will build on the outcomes of the 2019 Climate Action Summit and 2020 Climate Ambition Summit and will stress the Secretary-General’s call to ensure that all measures to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic are aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement,” the statement said, referring to Secretary-General António Guterres. 

The statement also said that Bloomberg will help mobilize stronger climate action before the Glasgow Climate Conference this November. At the conference, countries are expected to update their emissions reduction commitments.

Bloomberg has been a significant financial backer of environmental causes. Notably, the billionaire’s philanthropy has given funding to the Sierra Club’s “Beyond Coal” campaign, which seeks to close coal plants and replace them with clean energy. 

Burning coal releases more greenhouse gases than burning other fossil fuels. 

Then-President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement, in which countries agreed to take action to keep the Earth’s warming below 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels. 

However, President Biden signed an executive order to rejoin the agreement on his first day in office.