Rachel Kyte, the UK’s new climate envoy, will continue to serve on the board of a charity called Quadrature Climate Foundation, despite controversy surrounding the charity’s founders making a donation to the Labour party and having investments in fossil fuels. Kyte, a former World Bank climate chief, was appointed as the UK’s special representative on climate this week.
Despite the concerns raised by some, many senior figures in the UK and global green movements have rallied around Kyte, praising her decades of work on climate and development issues. Christiana Figueres and Laurence Tubiana, both prominent figures in climate negotiations, have expressed confidence in Kyte’s abilities to help the UK government tackle the climate crisis.
Kyte’s role as special representative on climate at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) will involve engaging in high-level global diplomacy and forging alliances with developed and developing countries to address climate change. Her appointment underwent full due diligence and her external engagements will be reviewed throughout her tenure to prevent conflicts of interest.
Quadrature Climate Foundation, the charity on whose board Kyte serves, operates independently of the investment company founded by Greg Skinner and Suneil Setiya. The foundation focuses on funding science-led solutions to climate change and has committed over £700m to promote sustainable development globally. Jess Ayers, the foundation’s CEO, emphasized that the foundation is politically neutral and does not support any political party. Kyte was appointed to the advisory board due to her leadership in the climate space and her expertise has been recognized through her UK government role.
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