Britain's new climate envoy will continue in his role as a trustee of a charity whose founder has donated millions of pounds to the Labor Party and invests in fossil fuels, the Guardian has reported.
Former World Bank climate chief Rachel Kyte, who was announced this week as the UK's special representative for climate, will serve on the climate advisory board of the Quadrature Climate Foundation, a charity set up by the founders of investment firm Quadrature Capital. Be a member.
Quadrature Capital donated £4m to Labor in May and also had fossil fuel investments in its portfolio last year. Joy Morrissey, the shadow energy secretary, wrote to the government this week asking whether donations played a role in the appointment and whether it was considered a potential conflict of interest at the time of the appointment.
rear controversy surrounding her appointmentsome senior figures from the UK and global environmental movements have rallied around Mr Kite, who is widely respected around the world for his decades-long work on climate and development issues.
The Guardian has learned that Mr Kite will retain his role at the Charity Commission, which operates independently of the investment firm. She had no role in Quadrature Capital's investment or political contribution decisions.
She will also retain her position as Professor of the Practice of Climate Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. She may continue with a handful of other outside relationships.
Christiana Figueres, co-founder of the think tank Global Optimism and former United Nations climate change chief who oversaw the 2015 Paris Agreement, said: [the foreign secretary] It is far better equipped to support the UK government's renewed efforts to mobilize climate finance, which has been the bane of climate change negotiations for years, if not decades. I wouldn't have been able to choose the person. She has dedicated much of her life to the challenge of promoting universal access to clean energy, and she will bring that experience to bear on the extremely difficult task she has received. ”
Laurence Tubiana, who helped negotiate the Paris Agreement and now heads the European Climate Foundation, said: “Rachel Kyte is extremely well suited to be the UK's climate change envoy.'' She is a global climate change warrior and David Lammy is lucky to have her as a voice. Her advanced expertise in climate finance will be valuable to the UK and global climate community, particularly in terms of: [the forthcoming climate summit] Cup 29. ”
As Special Representative for Climate at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Mr Kite's role, answering to Mr Lamy and Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, will be to build alliances between developed and developing countries and engage in high-level global diplomacy. This is a paid position that requires the following: Countries need to tackle the climate crisis.
The FCDO said Ms Kite's appointment had undergone sufficient due diligence in accordance with standard Cabinet Office procedures for direct appointments to ministers, and that her external engagements were subject to a case-by-case basis throughout her tenure to ensure there were no conflicts of interest. The case will be reviewed.
The Quadrature Climate Foundation was founded by investors Greg Skinner and Sunil Setiya, who also founded the investment and technology firm Quadrature Capital. The Guardian reported earlier this year that the foundation is run by a billionaire hedge fund boss who invests in fossil fuel companies, and has provided multi-million pound grants to several prominent climate campaign groups. It was reported that
Jess Ayers, chief executive of the Quadrature Climate Foundation, said: “The Quadrature Climate Foundation is a charitable foundation, operated in line with its philanthropic objectives, and is independent of Quadrature Capital Limited. QCF is committed to funding and supporting science-led solutions to climate change. Since its founding, QCF has committed over £700m politically to promoting sustainable development and advancing climate change solutions globally. We are neutral and do not support any political party.
“QCF is building an advisory board that provides independent agenda and thought partnership to increase our impact in this field. The advisory board has no decision-making authority,” Rachel said. Rachel's expertise has led to her appointment as Co-Chair of this Board in December 2023 due to her outstanding leadership in the climate change sector, including senior positions at the World Bank, United Nations agencies and third sector bodies. Further recognition through his appointment to this important role by the Government.”
