Frenchman picked to head UN-backed climate fund

BERLIN – Frenchman Yannick Glemarec has been picked to head a U.N.-backed body that helps developing countries fund efforts to tackle climate change.

The Green Climate Fund said Monday that its board selected Glemarec at a meeting in South Korea, where it is based.

The fund has received billions of dollars (euros) to help poor countries’ reduce their emissions and prepare for the impact of climate change.

But the fund’s work has been fraught with difficulty and its previous director, Australian Howard Bamsey, resigned in July.

Glemarec, who has a background in environmental science, was previously U.N. assistant secretary-general and held a senior position at the agency U.N. Women from 2015 to 2018.