By Canadian Press

Former Bank of Canada governor to serve as UN special envoy on ‘climate action’

Dec 1, 2019 | 10:47 AM

Bank of England governor Mark Carney, who previously served as Canada’s top central banker, will be taking on a new role as the United Nations’ special envoy on climate action and climate finance.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made the announcement while speaking to reporters in Madrid on Sunday, adding the move will take effect next year.

Carney was due to step down as bank governor early next year, having already extended what was meant to be a five-year term.

During his tenure, the former investment banker played a key role in trying to manage the British economy as the country prepares to leave the European Union.

Carney drew international recognition during the five years at the helm of the Bank of Canada, and at one point was named on Time magazine’s “most influential” list.

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He took over the job at the beginning of 2008 amid the first signs of the financial crisis, and has been widely credited for helping Canada weather the recession by keeping interest rates low.

In 2011, he was also appointed to oversee global financial reforms as head of the Financial Stability Board.

He has been speaking for years on the implications of climate change initiatives for the financial sector in the world, and emphasized the importance of ensuring that the financial system is resilient so that it can adjust and finance the transition to a low-carbon economy efficiently.

Carney, who hails from the Northwest Territories, has an undergraduate degree in economics from Harvard University and both a master’s and doctorate in economics from Oxford University.

He spent more than a decade with Goldman Sachs in London, Tokyo, New York and Toronto before joining the Bank of Canada in 2003 as deputy governor.

This report by The Canadian Press, with files from The Associated Press, was originally published on Dec. 1, 2019.

The Canadian Press