British official: Replace UN climate chief fast

UK Energy and Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband on Thursday called for fast action to replace departing United Nations climate chief Yvo de Boer, who announced that he is stepping down in July.

Miliband also defended the limited “Copenhagen Accord” reached on de Boer’s watch at December’s fractious UN climate summit.

Here’s Miliband’s statement on de Boer’s departure:

Yvo de Boer's patient work helped produce the Copenhagen Accord which contains commitments covering 80 percent of global emissions, something never previously achieved. 

We must quickly find a suitable successor, who can oversee the negotiations and reform the UNFCCC [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] to ensure it is up to the massive task of dealing with what are some of the most complex negotiations ever.