Segolene Royal confirmed as new president of UN climate talks

BusinessGreen staff
clock • 2 min read

French Environment Minister to oversee ratification of Paris Agreement, after taking up role vacated by Laurent Fabius

French Environment Minister Segolene Royal has confirmed she is to take over the presidency of the UN climate talks, following the resignation earlier this week of former foreign minister Laurent Fabius.

According to Reuters' reports, Royal told iTele television she had accepted an invitation from French President Francois Hollande to take up the position as President of the COP21 talks, which run until the COP22 summit kicks off in Marrakech in November.

Royal, who has been close to the long-running UN negotiations for several years, will now be tasked with steering the historic Paris Agreement through to ratification.

The agreement is expected to be formally adopted at a signing ceremony in New York in April. It will become officially ratified once at least 55 countries, representing at least 55 per cent of the world's climate emissions, to ratify the treaty.

Royal told iTele she would Royal work to ensure all countries "ratify the agreement, sign this agreement, implement the decisions in their domestic policies to permit a fight against global warming".

Royal will replace Fabius after he last week stepped down as Foreign Minister to take a new position as head of France's constitutional court. He originally intended to continue as president of the UN talks, but resigned this week in response to concerns holding the two positions may lead to a conflict of interest.

Hopes of the Paris Agreement securing early ratification were boosted this week when US climate envoy Todd Stern confirmed President Obama intended to sign the treaty in April, despite the controversial Supreme Court decision to "stay" the administration's Clean Power Plan while legal action against it proceeds.

"We think we are going to prevail in the court but we are going to go ahead and sign the agreement this year - period," he told reporters. "And we are not in any way going to back away from our 2025 targets."

This article is part of BusinessGreen's Road to Paris hub, hosted in association with PwC.

More on Policy

'Clarity is not the same as resolution': Energy experts divided on zonal pricing decision

'Clarity is not the same as resolution': Energy experts divided on zonal pricing decision

Some of the UK's leading energy companies have warmly welcomed the government's decision to reject plans for a zonal pricing regime, but others warn the government has missed a major opportunity to curb energy bills

James Murray
clock 10 July 2025 • 10 min read
Zoned out: Has the government made the right decision on zonal pricing?

Zoned out: Has the government made the right decision on zonal pricing?

The government has rejected proposals for a zonal pricing regime, but without further reforms the challenges zonal pricing were meant to address will continue to hamper the clean energy transition

James Murray
clock 10 July 2025 • 7 min read
Why the IT Reuse for Good Charter should be a game changer for digital inclusion
IT

Why the IT Reuse for Good Charter should be a game changer for digital inclusion

The government's recently-launched 'IT Reuse for Good Charter' is a major step forward for encouraging firms to embed circular approaches into their daily IT operations, but it could and should go further still, writes Green Alliance's Emily Carr

Emily Carr, Green Alliance
clock 10 July 2025 • 4 min read