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The ECF announces the establishment of an advisory council

14.05.2019

The European Climate Foundation (ECF) is pleased to announce the establishment of an advisory council— an illustrious group of leaders from government, academia, industry and civil society to provide ongoing advice to the CEO and ECF Board on strategic directions and themes.

The Advisory Council has been established by the ECF advisory board to:

  • Provide advice on the ECF’s strategy to the ECF management and Board;
  • Facilitate collaboration between the ECF and the wider academic, business and political community;
  • Represent the ECF as a high level “ambassadors”.

The Advisory Council operates under the guidance of the ECF’s CEO. Its mandate and role is defined by the ECF’s Supervisory Board and is subject to its review. Its advice is non-binding (i.e., the Supervisory Board remains responsible for defining the ECF’s strategic direction).

Members of the Advisory Council

  • Caio Koch-Weser, former chair of the ECF Supervisory Board, has been appointed as Chair of the Advisory Council.
  • Mary Robinson, Chair of the Elders, former President of Ireland, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former member of the ECF Supervisory Board
  • Professor Lord Nicholas Stern, IG Patel Chair of Economics and Government, Department of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science;
  • Paul Polman, Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce, the B Team, Vice-Chair of the UN Global Compact, Chair and Co-Founder of Imagine, and Former CEO Unilever.

Caio Koch-Weser

From 2013 until 2018 Mr. Koch-Weser served as Chair of the Board of the European Climate Foundation. From 2006 to 2016 he was Vice Chairman of Deutsche Bank Group. From 1999-2005, he was German Deputy Minister of Finance (State Secretary). From 1973 to 1999  he worked at the World Bank in Washington, including from 1995 to 1999 as Managing Director and member of its Executive Committee. He is a member of the boards of the Climate Works Foundation in San Francisco, the World Resources Institute in Washington, DC; and the Center for European Reform (CER) in London; a member of the Advisory Board of the MERICS Institute for China Studies in Berlin; and Member of the Global Commission on the Economy and Climate (NCE).

It is a privilege to serve the ECF in this new role. The Advisory Council will be an opportunity to engage with broader groups of stakeholders on issues that affect our societies’ ability to tackle climate change in line with the Paris Agreement. I am happy to take on this task jointly with Mary, Nick and Paul.
Caio Koch-Weser

Mary Robinson

Mary Robinson served as President of Ireland from 1990-1997 and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 1997-2002. She is Chair of the Elders, a member of the Club of Madrid and the recipient of numerous honours and awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the President of the United States Barack Obama. In May 2016 she was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as his Special Envoy on El Niño and Climate. She sits on the advisory board of Sustainable Energy For All (SE4All) and is also a member of the Lead Group of the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement. Between 2013 and 2015 she served as the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy in two roles; first for the Great Lakes region of Africa and then on Climate Change.

Nick Stern

Nicholas Stern is IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government, Co-Director of the India Observatory, and Chair of the Grantham Research Institute at LSE.  He has held posts at other UK & overseas universities, and at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank. He was Head, UK Government Economic Service 2003-2007, and produced the Stern Review on the economics of climate change. He was knighted for services to economics (2004), made a life peer (2007), and appointed Companion of Honour for services to economics, international relations and tackling climate change in 2017. His latest book is How Lives Change: Palanpur, India and Development Economics (with Himanshu and Peter Lanjouw), OUP 2018.

Paul Polman

Paul Polman is co-founder/Chair of Imagine, a B-Corp company promoting the future implementation of the global goals by driving transformational leadership.  He is also Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce, The B Team and Vice-Chair of the UN Global Compact. As Unilever’s CEO for ten years, he demonstrated that a long-term, multi-stakeholder model goes hand-in-hand with excellent financial performance. FT named him “The standout CEO of the past decade“. Due to his commitment to a more responsible form of business, Polman was appointed to the UN Secretary General’s High-level Panel to develop the Sustainable Development Goals. Polman engages across industry sectors and global organisations to build a coalition to drive transformative change to achieve the Global Goals. The recipient of many awards including the prestigious Oslo Business for Peace award, Climate Visionary Award, Appeal of Conscience Award,  Rainforest Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award and the UN Environment Programme’s Champion of the Earth Award, Polman received Singapore’s Public Service Star, France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur for his role in the Paris Agreement, and is an Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

The advisory council will provide an invaluable service to the ECF, helping to scan the horizon for future issues and themes that will help define the work of our organisation and the wider climate community. I am delighted that Caio has agreed to chair the group and to continue his association with the ECF.
Laurence Tubiana
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