Q&A: Where do the UN secretary general candidates stand on climate change?
Summary
<p>Candidates are being nominated to take over as the UN secretary general, when António Guterres...</p> <p>The post <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-where-do-the-un-secretary-general-candidates-stand-on-climate-change/">Q&A: Where do the UN secretary general candidates stand on climate change?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org">Carbon Brief</a>.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Candidates are being nominated to take over as the UN secretary general, when António Guterres steps down after nearly a decade in the role at the end of 2026.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Since becoming the ninth secretary general on 1 January 2017, Guterres has been a strong advocate for climate action, <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/secretary-general-s-remarks-to-the-general-assembly-on-priorities-for-2026">saying</a> in January 2026: </p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“We have been outspoken on the urgent need for climate action, demanding ambition and working to rally governments, businesses and civil society.” </p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ban-ki-moon-climate-change/">UN</a>, his predecessor, <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ban-ki-moon-climate-change/">Ban Ki-moon</a>, also “fought tirelessly to ensure that climate change stays at the top of the leaders’ agendas”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Following a <a href="https://docs.un.org/en/A/80/544">call</a> for nominations going out in November last year, member states are currently nominating candidates to be the next secretary general.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">To date, six candidates have been nominated by UN member states, with more expected in the coming months.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><div class="page-anchor" id="top"></div></p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Below, Carbon Brief looks at the candidates’ views on climate change.</p>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="#1" id="#1" rel="nofollow" type="internal">The UN secretary general’s role in climate action</a></li>
<li><a href="#2" id="#2" rel="nofollow" type="internal">The candidates</a>
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li><a href="#3" id="#3" rel="nofollow" type="internal">Michelle Bachelet Jeria</a></li>
<li><a href="#4" id="#4" rel="nofollow" type="internal">Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis</a></li>
<li><a href="#5" id="#5" rel="nofollow" type="internal">Rafael Mariano Grossi</a></li>
<li><a href="#6" id="#6" rel="nofollow" type="internal">Macky Sall</a></li>
<li><a href="#7" id="#7" rel="nofollow" type="internal">María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés</a></li>
<li><a href="#8" id="#8" rel="nofollow" type="internal">Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="#9" id="#9" rel="nofollow" type="internal">Next steps</a></li>
</ul>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><div class="page-anchor" id="1"></div></p>
<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The UN secretary general’s role in climate action</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The <a href="https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/full-text">UN charter</a> describes the secretary general as the organisation’s “<a href="https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/full-text">chief administrative officer</a>”.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to the <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/the-role-of-the-secretary-general">UN</a>, they are a “symbol of UN ideals and a spokesperson for the interests of the world’s peoples, in particular the poor and vulnerable among them”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It adds that the role is “[e]qual parts diplomat and advocate, civil servant and CEO”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Over the past two decades, UN secretaries general have used their platform to advance action on climate change.<br /><br />They have done so both by serving as a “<a href="https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/the-role-of-the-secretary-general">moral authority</a>” on climate change and as <a href="https://peacemaker.un.org/en/mandate/secretary-general-mediation">mediators</a> in the drive to bring countries together, according to the UN. </p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img alt="Ban Ki-moon, president of China Xi Jinping and former US president Barack Obama, as China and US deposited instruments to formally ratify the Paris Agreement in September 2016." class="wp-image-63260" height="716" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/GR18T4.jpg" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ban Ki-moon, president of China Xi Jinping and former US president Barack Obama, as China and US deposited instruments to formally ratify the Paris Agreement in September 2016. Credit: White House Photo / <a href="https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-hangzhou-china-5th-september-2016-us-president-barack-obama-president-117428196.html" id="https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-hangzhou-china-5th-september-2016-us-president-barack-obama-president-117428196.html" type="link">Alamy Stock Photo</a></figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general from 2007 to 2016, <a href="https://dialogue.earth/en/climate/9523-champion-of-the-paris-agreement-ban-ki-moon-steps-down/">oversaw</a> and <a href="https://grist.org/politics/ban-ki-moon-wants-to-solve-climate-change-with-kindness/">brokered</a> negotiations that culminated in the <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/interactive-the-paris-agreement-on-climate-change/">Paris Agreement</a>, which he described as a “<a href="https://unfccc.int/news/ban-ki-moon-paris-agreement-is-peace-pact-with-the-planet">peace pact with the planet</a>”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Additionally, he <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/we-are-race-against-time-says-ban-leaders-sign-landmark-paris">pushed</a> for its rapid ratification by member states so it could <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/parisagreement21september/">enter into force</a> in record time compared to other treaties – such as its predecessor the <a href="https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-kyoto-protocol">Kyoto Protocol</a>, which took eight years to come into force – with Ban securing an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/03/breakthrough-us-china-agree-ratify-paris-climate-change-deal">early buy-in</a> from the US and China. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He also <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-15/ban-ki-moon-presses-rich-nations-for-100-billion-climate-plan">worked to mobilise</a> $100bn per year by 2020 in climate financing from developed to developing countries. (The target was, ultimately, met <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-seven-charts-showing-how-the-100bn-climate-finance-goal-was-met/">two years late</a>.)</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">His successor and current secretary general, Guterres, had been Portugal’s prime minister from 1995 to 2002, making him the <a href="https://time.com/3833463/unhcr-antonio-guterres-migration-refugees-europe/">first former national leader</a> to hold the position. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Guterres served as the <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/us/antonio-guterres">UN’s high commissioner for refugees</a> between 2005 and 2015, a period that saw the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-27921938">highest level of human displacement</a> since the second world war. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Guterres was the first secretary general to be elected through the current process, which includes public hearings and anonymous polling. (See: <a href="#9" id="#9" rel="nofollow" type="internal">Next steps</a>.)</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He was chosen as the successful candidate in 2016, when he was voted in without opposition “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/05/antonio-guterres-next-un-secretary-general">in a rare show of unity</a>” by members of the security council. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In his near-decade in office, he has become known for his references to the climate “<a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/world-headed-climate-catastrophe-without-urgent-action-un-secretary-general">emergency</a>” and his calls for nations to make rapid emissions cuts. </p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img alt="UN secretary general António Guterres calling for a worldwide state of climate “emergency” in December 2020." class="wp-image-63255" height="683" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2RR4T5W.jpg" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">UN secretary general António Guterres calling for a worldwide state of climate “emergency” in December 2020. Credit: Imago / <a href="https://www.alamy.com/201212-united-nations-dec-12-2020-united-nations-secretary-general-antonio-guterres-l-attends-the-climate-ambition-summit-at-the-un-headquarters-in-new-york-on-dec-12-2020-guterres-on-saturday-called-for-a-worldwide-state-of-climate-emergency-to-tackle-global-warming-handout-via-xinhua-un-guterres-climate-ambition-summit-markxgartenunxphoto-publicationxnotxinxchn-image564975653.html?" id="https://www.alamy.com/201212-united-nations-dec-12-2020-united-nations-secretary-general-antonio-guterres-l-attends-the-climate-ambition-summit-at-the-un-headquarters-in-new-york-on-dec-12-2020-guterres-on-saturday-called-for-a-worldwide-state-of-climate-emergency-to-tackle-global-warming-handout-via-xinhua-un-guterres-climate-ambition-summit-markxgartenunxphoto-publicationxnotxinxchn-image564975653.html?" type="link">Alamy Stock Photo</a></figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Describing climate change as a “<a href="https://unfccc.int/news/guterres-climate-action-is-a-battle-for-our-lives">battle for our lives</a>” and the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s</a> (IPCC) 2021 <a href="http://carbonbrief.org/explainer-what-the-new-ipcc-report-says-about-extreme-weather-and-climate-change/">report</a> as a “<a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/08/1097362">code red for humanity</a>”, Guterres has repeatedly demanded immediate action towards limiting global warming to 1.5C. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In 2024, as the world <a href="https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/global-temperature-likely-exceed-15degc-above-pre-industrial-level-temporarily-next-5-years">edged closer</a> to hitting 1.5C of warming <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-what-record-global-heat-means-for-breaching-the-1-5c-warming-limit/">in an individual year</a>, Guterres <a href="https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1o/k1oixp3pb7">said</a>: </p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The battle to limit temperature rise to 1.5C will be won or lost in the 2020s – under the watch of leaders today.”</p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Besides repeatedly <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/11/1156831">urging</a> developed countries to meet their climate-finance <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/01/1132272">obligations</a>, Guterres has also <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/11/1157276">intervened</a> in attempts to resolve gridlocked negotiations at the annual “COP” climate summits. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He is known for his <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/06/1137747">pointed</a> advocacy on phasing out fossil fuels and for regularly <a href="https://cop30.br/en/news-about-cop30/lula-and-guterres-urge-ndc-submission-without-them-the-planet-walks-in-the-dark">convening states</a> to submit more ambitious climate pledges.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="#top" id="#top" rel="nofollow" type="internal"><em>Back to top</em></a></p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The candidates</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the run-up to the UN general assembly in September 2026, nations are putting forward candidates for the secretary general position. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/contenders-head-crisis-wracked-un-face-live-grillings-2026-04-21/">Reuters</a>, tradition dictates that the role rotates between regions, with Latin America and the Caribbean next in line. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Thus far, <a href="https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2026-05/in-hindsight-the-search-for-the-next-secretary-general.php">five</a> of the six candidates are from South or Central America: Michelle Bachelet Jeria; Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis; Rafael Mariano Grossi; María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés; and Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The outlier is Macky Sall, a former Senegalese president nominated by the east African nation of Burundi.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Reuters adds that there is an “unwritten rule” that the secretary general never comes from one of the five permanent members of the UN security council – the UK, China, France, Russia and the US – to avoid an over-concentration of power. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In its 80-year history, a woman has never held the position of UN secretary general. Four of the six candidates nominated to date are women.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As shown below, this fact was noted “with regret” by a UN general assembly resolution in 2025, setting out the rules of the process to appoint the next secretary general.</p>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img alt="UN general assembly resolution laying out the rules of the process to appoint its next secretary general. Credit: UN (2025)" class="wp-image-63262" height="139" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ragout1.png" width="1000" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">UN general assembly resolution laying out the rules of the process to appoint its next secretary general. Credit: UN (<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5399cc0ae4b0705199b37aa3/t/68bb72d7c21c671d3fc1d972/1757115095708/UN70+AHWG+Report+%28containing+resolution%29.pdf" id="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5399cc0ae4b0705199b37aa3/t/68bb72d7c21c671d3fc1d972/1757115095708/UN70+AHWG+Report+%28containing+resolution%29.pdf" type="link">2025</a>)</figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Speaking during the first <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/JTc7lUbD3gc">candidates’ debate</a>, Espinosa Garcés <a href="https://www.barrons.com/news/a-woman-in-charge-of-the-un-candidates-feel-it-s-about-time-0b977710">quipped</a>: </p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I think, of course, a woman – it’s about time, isn’t it? After 80 years [of the UN’s existence].”</p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The debate was held in June by the UN Foundation, in collaboration with women’s organisation <a href="https://www.gwlvoices.org/">GWL Voices</a>. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Bachelet, Espinosa and Grynspan took part in person at the event in Geneva, Switzerland. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">(Sall sent in a video intervention, played at the beginning of the debate. Grossi was, according to the presenter, “not available” to participate and “chose not to send” a message by video.)</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The three candidates were asked by an audience member how they would “ensure the climate governance becomes more equitable in response to those on the front lines of the crisis”, if they were elected as secretary-general. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Bachelet called for increased urgency in tackling climate change. Grynspan highlighted the need for action on adaptation as well as mitigation. Espinosa emphasised the need for a wide range of people to be involved in climate action, from Indigenous people to the financial sector.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The three participants all emphasised the need for finance in their responses. Bachelet, for example, specifically highlighting the need for grant-based finance. She said that “we cannot” keep asking “states that are fighting with a terrible debt” to accept climate-finance loans, which, ultimately, add to their debt. She added:<br /></p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“They’re drowning and we’re asking them to ask for loans with a debt service that’s so big.”</p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">All six candidates attended the <a href="https://unfoundation.org/media/un-secretary-general-race-gathers-pace-at-candidate-debate-in-geneva/">Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity</a>, co-hosted in Geneva by the Ban Ki-moon Foundation, at the end of June, ahead of the scheduling of further debates.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Additionally, for the <a href="https://1for8billion.org/news/2025/9/5/new-ground-rules-for-un-secretary-general-selection-financial-transparency-a-clearer-structure-and-a-push-for-women-candidates">first time</a> in the selection process, candidates have been asked to voluntarily disclose their funding sources at the time of nomination.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Below, Carbon Brief details the candidates that have been nominated so far, what climate-relevant roles they have held previously and their views on climate change. (The list will be updated as further candidates are announced.)</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="#top" id="#top" rel="nofollow" type="internal"><em>Back to top</em></a></p>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Michelle Bachelet Jeria</h3>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img alt="Michelle Bachelet speaking to the press at the UN headquarters in New York." class="wp-image-63257" height="683" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/3EA8Y83.jpg" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Michelle Bachelet speaking to the press at the UN headquarters in New York. Credit: Lev Radin / <a href="https://www.alamy.com/new-york-ny-april-21-2026-michelle-bachelet-jeria-former-president-of-chile-and-candidate-for-the-position-of-the-next-secretary-general-speaks-to-the-press-at-stakeout-at-un-headquarters-in-new-york-ny-on-april-21-2026-credit-lev-radinalamy-news-live-image729179027.html?imageid=0737B861-E10F-45C0-99E2-F23AF3718681&pn=1&searchId=94f7b9963a219d1f1f07fcaaa5d722b3&searchtype=0" id="https://www.alamy.com/new-york-ny-april-21-2026-michelle-bachelet-jeria-former-president-of-chile-and-candidate-for-the-position-of-the-next-secretary-general-speaks-to-the-press-at-stakeout-at-un-headquarters-in-new-york-ny-on-april-21-2026-credit-lev-radinalamy-news-live-image729179027.html?imageid=0737B861-E10F-45C0-99E2-F23AF3718681&pn=1&searchId=94f7b9963a219d1f1f07fcaaa5d722b3&searchtype=0" type="link">Alamy Stock Photo</a></figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Dr Michelle Bachelet Jeria is a Chilean diplomat, politician and doctor, nominated to be the next UN secretary general by Brazil and Mexico. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Bachelet was the former <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/about-us/high-commissioner/past/michelle-bachelet-jeria">UN high commissioner for human rights</a>, having served as its seventh commissioner from 2018 to 2022 and as the first director of UN Women. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She originally <a href="https://worldleaders.columbia.edu/directory/michelle-bachelet">trained</a> as a doctor – an education that was disrupted by being <a href="https://worldleaders.columbia.edu/directory/michelle-bachelet">exiled</a> in 1975 following the Chilean coup d’état led by general Augusto Pinochet – and specialised in paediatrics and public health. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In 1990, she began taking on roles in government bodies, including work in the Ministry of Health. This led her to further study, completing courses in military strategy and continental defence.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She became health minister in March 2000, before becoming the first woman to be the defence minister in Chile and Latin America in 2002. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Bachelet was elected as Chile’s first – and only – woman president, serving two terms: from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 2018. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As president and in public office, she consistently framed action on climate change as a human-rights obligation and a <a href="https://passblue.com/article/2026-04-28-michelle-bachelet-faces-the-general-assembly/">preventive tool</a> to mitigate the worst impacts, arguing that “there is no space for [climate] denial”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">During her second term as Chile’s president, the share of renewables in the nation’s energy mix grew from 6% to 17% in four years. Bachelet also enacted South America’s <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/markets/commodities/chile-becomes-the-first-south-american-country-to-tax-carbon-idUSL6N0RR4V7/">first carbon tax</a> and announced a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S175500841630148X">70% by 2050</a> renewable-energy goal, as well as expanding marine protected areas.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Among the range of international positions she has held over the last 20 years, Bachelet was named as the first director of the UN Women agency by former UN secretary general Ban. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Throughout her first term as high commissioner for human rights, Bachelet advocated for the protection of <a href="https://www.cepal.org/en/pressreleases/authorities-and-experts-highlight-escazu-agreements-importance-guaranteeing-human">environmental defenders</a> at risk, particularly in <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2019/12/report-impacts-climate-change-seriously-compromising-human-rights">Latin America</a> and the <a href="https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/land-and-environmental-defenders/why-the-escazu-agreement-matters-for-land-and-environmental-defenders-in-the-caribbean/">Caribbean</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2022/07/climate-change-exacerbates-violence-against-women-and-girls">women and girls</a> impacted by climate change. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In a <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/09/1045862">2022 address</a> to the UN human rights council following devastating fires in the Amazon, Bachelet remarked: “We are burning up our future – literally.” She continued:</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The world has never seen a threat to human rights of this scope. This is not a situation where any country, any institution, any policymaker can stand on the sidelines. </p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The economies of all nations; the institutional, political, social and cultural fabric of every State, and the rights of all your people – and future generations – will be impacted.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In an interview after she stepped down as human rights chief, Bachelet <a href="https://news.un.org/en/interview/2022/08/1125652">described</a> the “triple planetary crisis – climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss” – as the “worst threat for humanity”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In February 2026, she “<a href="https://1for8billion.org/news/2026/3/25/bachelets-candidacy-to-continue-after-one-of-three-nominating-states-withdraws-support">broke new ground</a>” when she was <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-02/pga-psc-joint-letter-bachelet-en-fr-es.pdf">nominated</a> by multiple UN member states – Chile, Mexico and Brazil – for the secretary general position. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">However, in March, Chile’s newly sworn-in right-wing government, led by José Antonio Kast, <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-03/bachelet-letter-chile.pdf">withdrew</a> its backing for Bachelet. Her nomination was dubbed “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/chile-withdraws-backing-former-president-bachelet-un-secretary-general-2026-03-24/">unviable</a>” and a “<a href="https://english.elpais.com/international/2026-03-25/will-michelle-bachelet-become-the-next-un-secretary-general-what-the-forecasts-are-saying.html">mistake</a>” by figures in the new government.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This is the <a href="https://1for8billion.org/news/2026/3/25/bachelets-candidacy-to-continue-after-one-of-three-nominating-states-withdraws-support">first time</a> a nominating state has withdrawn its support for a candidate. Bachelet’s candidacy is still supported by Brazil and Mexico. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Additionally, more than two dozen Republican US lawmakers <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/contenders-head-crisis-wracked-un-face-live-grillings-2026-04-21/">accused</a> Bachelet of “prioritis[ing] an extreme abortion agenda” in a letter earlier in 2026. They called for the US to veto her nomination. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She pushed back during a hearing in New York, US, saying that she “will always be by the side of women”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In her <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-02/bachelet-vision-en.pdf">pitch</a> for secretary general, Bachelet calls for “simplify[ing] access to climate funds”, “innovative financial instruments” to address biodiversity loss and climate change and “sustainable responses that ensure climate justice, particularly for developing countries and vulnerable communities”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She calls for debt relief, “true reform” of the international <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/explainer-how-can-climate-finance-be-increased-from-billions-to-trillions/">financial architecture</a>, promoting investment in sustainable infrastructure and accelerating a just energy transition, with special attention to small-island states and least-developed countries. She says:</p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“From climate change to armed conflict, from growing inequality to technological disruption, the future of the UN will depend on its ability to adapt, renew and lead.”</p>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis</h3>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img alt="Rebecca Grnyspan Mayufis is a Costa Rican economist and former chair of the UN’s trade and development organisation UNCTAD." class="wp-image-63263" height="683" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/UNCTAD_Secretary-General_Rebeca_Grynspan_51635255161.jpg" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Rebecca Grnyspan Mayufis is a Costa Rican economist and former chair of the UN’s trade and development organisation UNCTAD. Credit: UNCTAD Photo / Tim Sullivan / <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UNCTAD_Secretary-General_Rebeca_Grynspan_(51635255161).jpg" id="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UNCTAD_Secretary-General_Rebeca_Grynspan_(51635255161).jpg" type="link">Wikimedia Commons</a></figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis is a Costa Rican economist, diplomat and the former vice-president of <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-03/grynspan-joint-letter-es-en_0.pdf">Costa Rica</a>. The nation backed her nomination. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In 2021, Grynspan became the first woman to be appointed secretary general of the <a href="http://unctad.org/">UN Conference on Trade and Development</a> (UNCTAD). </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">As part of this role, in February 2022, she outlined the UN’s vision for a <a href="https://unctad.org/news/unctad-chief-offers-vision-ensuring-stronger-and-more-inclusive-recovery-covid-19">sustainable recovery</a> from the <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/coronavirus-tracking-how-the-worlds-green-recovery-plans-aim-to-cut-emissions/">Covid-19 pandemic</a> that “avoid[s] another lost decade of development for developing countries”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In July 2022, Grynspan was <a href="https://dohaforum.org/speakers/rebeca-grynspanhttps://unitar.org/about/news-stories/news/doha-best-negotiator-year-2024-award-ceremony">credited</a> with playing a “central” role in negotiating the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/black-sea-grain-initiative">Black Sea grain initiative</a> struck between Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Brokered on behalf of the UN and as part of the Istanbul agreements, the initiative allowed grain and fertiliser exports blocked by Russia to resume to some of the world’s most food-insecure nations, with global food prices falling 23% in response to the deals. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In her <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-03/grynspan-vision-en_0.pdf">pitch</a> to become secretary general, Grynspan prioritises “durable peace and security” and UN reform as the first two of her three key priorities. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She warns that the world is “sleepwalking into dangerous climate-change scenarios”. Still, she adds that “technology offers new paths to development”, including through clean energy and critical minerals that are becoming “as valuable as oil”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Grynspan has been especially vocal on the interconnections between climate and debt, <a href="https://genevasolutions.news/sustainable-business-finance/rebeca-grynspan-on-turning-unctad-from-technical-agency-to-climate-beacon">observing</a> that “financing is really key for any objective that we set to stick to the 1.5C target”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Grynspan also <a href="https://barbadostoday.bb/2024/05/29/bridgetown-initiative-3-0-unveiled-to-tackle-debt-climate-crises/">supports</a> the <a href="https://www.bridgetown-initiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/SY043_Bridgetown-Initiative-3-0.pdf">Bridgetown Initiative</a>, championed by Barbados’ prime minister, Mia Mottley, to reform the global financial architecture and address debt and climate change, <a href="https://passblue.com/sgc-candidate/rebeca-grynspan/">particularly</a> in climate-vulnerable countries.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In her pitch, Grynspan warns that many millions “will continue to live in crushing scarcity and face compounding crises” if current trends continue. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">These, she says, include small-island states “hit by cyclones that grow fiercer each year, landlocked nations facing the brunt of rising trade costs [and] developing economies servicing debt while capital moves past them”. She continues: </p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Many states, including middle-income countries that are home to most of the world’s poor, struggle to fully access the trade, finance, technology and investment opportunities of the global economy. </p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The UN must help widen the pathways to economic opportunities and help remove the structural constraints that stifle people’s potential. Sustainable development is not given, but unleashed.”</p>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Rafael Mariano Grossi</h3>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img alt="Rafael Grossi speaking at a press conference in Vienna in 2025, outlining concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme." class="wp-image-63256" height="662" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/3BHCXXB.jpg" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Rafael Grossi speaking at a press conference in Vienna in 2025, outlining concerns over Iran’s nuclear programme. Credit: Albert Otti / dpa photo alliance / <a href="https://www.alamy.com/wien-austria-09th-june-2025-rafael-grossi-head-of-the-international-atomic-energy-agency-iaea-speaks-at-a-press-conference-grossi-is-increasingly-concerned-about-irans-nuclear-program-the-rapid-increase-in-the-quantities-of-uranium-in-iran-that-is-almost-suitable-for-nuclear-weapons-is-a-cause-for-great-concern-grossi-told-the-iaea-board-of-governors-in-vienna-credit-albert-ottidpaalamy-live-news-image681938051.html?imageid=4F9FBD70-9992-41D0-AB81-33D0CC312D5B&pn=1&searchId=a305ce58574681a5dadc7e2036063ade&searchtype=0" id="https://www.alamy.com/wien-austria-09th-june-2025-rafael-grossi-head-of-the-international-atomic-energy-agency-iaea-speaks-at-a-press-conference-grossi-is-increasingly-concerned-about-irans-nuclear-program-the-rapid-increase-in-the-quantities-of-uranium-in-iran-that-is-almost-suitable-for-nuclear-weapons-is-a-cause-for-great-concern-grossi-told-the-iaea-board-of-governors-in-vienna-credit-albert-ottidpaalamy-live-news-image681938051.html?imageid=4F9FBD70-9992-41D0-AB81-33D0CC312D5B&pn=1&searchId=a305ce58574681a5dadc7e2036063ade&searchtype=0" type="link">Alamy Stock Photo</a> </figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Rafael Mariano Grossi is an Argentine diplomat and has served as the director-general of the UN’s nuclear watchdog – the <a href="http://www.iaea.org/">International Atomic Energy Agency</a> (IAEA) – since 2019. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Grossi was <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2025-12/grossi-joint-letter-en-es.pdf">nominated</a> by Argentina in November 2025. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">A month later, Iran <a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202512165772">opposed</a> his candidacy for failing to condemn US-Israeli attacks against “safeguarded, peaceful nuclear facilities”. It has since accused him of political bias and “<a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/is-he-a-director-or-analyst-tehran-accuses-grossi-of-bias-undermining-oversight-role/">destructive statements</a>”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While his “<a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2025-12/grossi-vision-en.pdf">vision statement</a>” for the UN does not directly mention “climate” or “climate change”, he refers to progress on the UN’s <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">Sustainable Development Goals</a> as “unfulfilled aspirations”.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Grossi suggests a “grounded, sectoral approach” to the world’s challenges through “collaborative partnerships” with “civil society, the private sector and the scientific community”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the statement – his pitch for the secretary general position – Grossi writes: </p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Development cooperation must deliver tangible benefits, including access to health care, food, water and energy security, environment, education and real opportunities for a better quality of life, especially in countries facing the greatest challenges. Words must lead to action, and action to impact.” </p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Grossi <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2025-12/grossi-cv-en.pdf">takes credit</a> for helping to achieve “global consensus around the need for nuclear power in the energy transition”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">At the UN climate summit <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop28-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-un-climate-talks-in-dubai/">COP28</a> in Dubai in 2023, Grossi delivered a statement saying:</p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Net-zero needs nuclear power. The world needs nuclear power to fight climate change and action should be taken to expand the use of this clean energy source and help build a low-carbon bridge to the future.”</p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">At the conference, a <a href="https://www.energy.gov/articles/cop28-countries-launch-declaration-triple-nuclear-energy-capacity-2050-recognizing-key">declaration</a> to triple nuclear energy was endorsed by 22 national governments, including the US, France, the UAE and the UK. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">More recently, Grossi has described the annual COP summits as “<a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/europe/2026/05/29/rafael-grossi-hits-out-at-absent-un-in-global-wars/">unmanageable</a>” due to their size. According to the <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2026/06/01/uae-iran-barakah-rafael-grossi/">National</a>, he has also “said he hoped to bridge the gap between climate agreements and growing energy demands, particularly in developing countries”.</p>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Macky Sall</h3>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img alt="Macky Sall, Senegal’s former president and prime minister, speaking at an informal dialogue with UN ambassadors as part of the selection process for secretary general." class="wp-image-63258" height="683" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/3EAG6PT.jpg" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Macky Sall, Senegal’s former president and prime minister, speaking at an informal dialogue with UN ambassadors as part of the selection process for secretary general. Credit: Enrique Shore / <a href="https://www.alamy.com/new-york-usa-22nd-apr-2026-former-president-of-senegal-macky-sall-during-his-informal-dialogue-with-united-nations-ambassadors-as-a-candidate-for-the-position-of-the-next-un-secretary-general-credit-enrique-shorealamy-live-news-image729338592.html?imageid=927969C9-2474-4C57-B479-2DBFF0A22751&pn=1&searchId=673cff212a78cc7e2ecf669eb2bc4513&searchtype=0" id="https://www.alamy.com/new-york-usa-22nd-apr-2026-former-president-of-senegal-macky-sall-during-his-informal-dialogue-with-united-nations-ambassadors-as-a-candidate-for-the-position-of-the-next-un-secretary-general-credit-enrique-shorealamy-live-news-image729338592.html?imageid=927969C9-2474-4C57-B479-2DBFF0A22751&pn=1&searchId=673cff212a78cc7e2ecf669eb2bc4513&searchtype=0" type="link">Alamy Stock Photo</a></figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macky_Sall">Macky Sall</a> is a Senegalese politician who served as prime minister from 2004 to 2007 and then president from 2012 to 2024. He has been <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-03/macky-sall-joint-letter-en-fr.pdf">nominated</a> by Burundi, which is currently the chair of the African Union (AU).</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">However, Sall’s candidacy has been <a href="https://amaniafrica-et.org/aus-rejection-of-macky-salls-un-secretary-general-candidacy-is-a-win-for-africa-s-diplomacy-and-warrants-withdrawal-of-the-candidacy/">rejected</a> by other AU states, with Rwanda <a href="https://amaniafrica-et.org/aus-rejection-of-macky-salls-un-secretary-general-candidacy-is-a-win-for-africa-s-diplomacy-and-warrants-withdrawal-of-the-candidacy/">calling</a> the use of a “silent procedure” to push through consensus on the African candidate for the position “a gross breach of AU rules and regulations”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In his “<a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-03/macky-sall-vision-fr.pdf">vision statement</a>”, Sall says that “peace and security cannot be sustained when the foundations of development are undermined by poverty, inequality, exclusion and climate vulnerability”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While Sall underlines shortfalls in development financing, he emphasises that a “solidarity-based approach, founded on trust in crisis management, combined with sustained efforts for prevention and strengthening of early warning initiatives and mechanisms” is needed to address the challenges created by climate change. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Although Sall’s 12-year stint as president <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/3/19/after-12-years-in-power-senegals-macky-sall-leaves-a-fragile-democracy">focused</a> on “reducing power cuts and connecting remote villages to the power grid”, his candidacy is also facing charges of corruption, protestor crackdowns and media repression, according to <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/3/19/after-12-years-in-power-senegals-macky-sall-leaves-a-fragile-democracy">Al Jazeera</a>. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">During the early part of Sall’s presidency, Senegal <a href="https://continent.substack.com/p/macky-salls-latest-choice-is-less">discovered</a> oil and gas reserves – and the country’s oil exports have since <a href="https://resourcetrade.earth/?year=2024&exporter=686&category=32&units=value&autozoom=1">surged</a> from $0.4bn in 2015 to $2.4bn in 2024. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He was <a href="https://energychamber.org/fr/aec-senegalese-president-macky-sall-has-set-a-bold-energy-agenda-paving-the-way-for-regional-progress/">supportive</a> of the African oil-and-gas sector, with much of the development of Senegal’s <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c722n9g5w22o">first oil production</a> site undertaken during his term in office.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In 2019, a <a href="https://globalwitness.org/en/press-releases/bbc-expos%C3%A9-on-10bn-deal-shows-bp-may-have-been-complicit-in-corruption/">BBC Africa Eye</a> investigation alleged that a company owned by Aliou Sall – Sall’s brother – received secret payments from businessmen who had obtained licences for two offshore gas blocks that same year. Sall <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-48540075">denied</a> the allegations.</p>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading">María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés</h3>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img alt="María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, former president of the UN general assembly, speaking at COP24 in Katowice, Poland. Credit: UNFCCC (2018)" class="wp-image-63259" height="683" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/45436133404_aaae33c040_k.jpg" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, former president of the UN general assembly, speaking at COP24 in Katowice, Poland. Credit: UNFCCC (<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/unfccc/45436133404/" id="https://www.flickr.com/photos/unfccc/45436133404/" type="link">2018</a>)</figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés is an Ecuadorian linguist, poet, politician and conservationist. She was <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-05/espinosa-garces-joint-letter-pga-psc.pdf">nominated</a> by Antigua and Barbuda on 12 May, the <a href="https://1for8billion.org/news/2026/5/12/mara-fernanda-espinosa-nominated-for-un-secretary-general">only</a> Caribbean state to put forward a candidate in this year’s selection process. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Espinosa was the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/ga/president/73/">president</a> of the UN general assembly (UNGA) from 2018 to 2019. She has also served as Ecuador’s minister of foreign affairs twice, as well as its defence minister.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Before her political career, Espinosa was <a href="https://clubmadrid.org/who/members/maria-fernanda-espinosa/">known</a> for her work with Indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon and biodiversity conservation. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-05/espinosa-garces-cv-en.pdf">established</a> the socio-environmental studies programme at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) and served as the regional director for South America at the <a href="http://iucn.org/">International Union for the Conservation of Nature</a> (IUCN) from 2005 to 2007. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Espinosa is no stranger to climate talks: she was Ecuador’s chief climate negotiator at UN COPs from <a href="https://unfccc.int/conference/copenhagen-climate-change-conference-december-2009">Copenhagen</a> in 2009 to <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/interactive-the-paris-agreement-on-climate-change/">Paris</a> in 2015. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In a <a href="https://unfccc.int/documents/185531">statement</a> ahead of <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/cop24-key-outcomes-agreed-at-the-un-climate-talks-in-katowice/">COP24</a> in Katowice, Poland, Espinosa – as UNGA president – remarked:</p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“I clearly remember the long negotiation days; the emotions, the frustrations, the sense of duty fulfilled in Cancun, Johannesburg or Copenhagen; the great hope of Paris. Clearly, we have come a long way, and much has been achieved, but we must rise to the new evidence and the new threats.</p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“The current climate crisis gives us now the opportunity to show the world that effective, results-oriented multilateralism is not an option but a survival necessity.”</p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In a 2024 <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3233/EPL-239027">paper</a>, she lists fragmentation, “coordination challenges” and an “implementation deficit” as some of the key hurdles undermining the UN’s global environmental governance framework. She argues that its effectiveness “is significantly compromised by its very structure”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In the same paper, Espinosa observes that the UNFCCC’s <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-the-challenge-of-consensus-decision-making-in-un-climate-negotiations/">consensus-based</a> decision-making “paradoxically contributes” to challenges in responding to climate change. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In her <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-05/espinosa-garces-vision-en.pdf">vision statement</a>, Espinosa says that she plans to encourage a “more coherent international response” to support highly indebted, climate-vulnerable countries. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She states that the UN must act as a platform to strengthen cooperation on energy and support states during energy shocks. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to Espinosa, “energy security, access, sustainability, trade and strategic autonomy are central to global stability”, with the energy transition “reshaping patterns of dependence and competition”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">She also says <a href="https://www.iea.org/topics/critical-minerals">critical mineral</a> extraction is being “unevenly distributed and developing at breakneck speed”.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If selected as secretary general, Espinosa plans to establish a “global energy security coordination mechanism” between UN member states and “other key actors” to manage the impacts of global energy shocks. These include impacts on energy access and affordability, food security, development and social stability, according to her nomination statement. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">At a special <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/general-assembly-high-level-meeting-urges-climate-ambition">UNGA meeting</a> on climate ambition and sustainable development in 2019, Espinosa warned the gathering:</p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“We are the last generation that can prevent irreparable damage to our planet. Climate justice is intergenerational justice.”</p>
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<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett</h3>
<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img alt="Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett was nominated for the post of UN secretary general by Guyana on 15 June, 2026. Credit: Daniel Cima / Wikimedia Commons" class="wp-image-63261" height="683" src="https://www.carbonbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Guyana-_Situacion_DESC_-_16850887316.jpg" width="1024" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett was nominated for the post of UN secretary general by Guyana on 15 June, 2026. Credit: Daniel Cima / <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guyana-_Situaci%C3%B3n_DESC_-_16850887316.jpg" id="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Guyana-_Situaci%C3%B3n_DESC_-_16850887316.jpg" type="link">Wikimedia Commons</a></figcaption></figure>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett is a politician, diplomat, former school teacher and Guyana’s permanent representative to the UN. She was <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-06/carolyn-rodrigues-birkett-joint-letter-en.pdf">nominated</a> by her home nation on 15 June 2026, becoming the first Indigenous candidate in the current elections.<br /><br />Rodrigues-Birkett <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-06/carolyn-rodrigues-birkett-cv-en.pdf">served</a> as Guyana’s minister for <a href="https://www.ggmc.gov.gy/agencies/ministry-of-amerindian-affairs/">Amerindian affairs</a> – the Indigenous population – in 2001 and 2006. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Appointed at the age of 27, Birkett is widely recognised as one of the “architects” of the <a href="https://moaa.gov.gy/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/AMERINDIAN-ACT-2006.pdf">Amerindian Act of 2006</a> – a piece of legislation <a href="https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=37070">described</a> as “a milestone for Amerindian land rights, not only in Guyana but the western hemisphere”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The act codified Indigenous land rights, governance and mandates their consent before mining or development projects on communally owned forest land. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In 2008, Birkett was appointed the country’s minister for foreign affairs and trade for two terms, the <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-06/carolyn-rodrigues-birkett-cv-en.pdf">first</a> and youngest woman of Indigenous descent to rise to the role. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Birkett has <a href="https://passblue.com/2026/06/18/guyanas-candidate-is-aiming-to-be-the-first-she-secretary-general/">served</a> as Guyana’s envoy in the security council in its <a href="https://op.gov.gy/guyana-concludes-tenure-on-united-nations-security-council-january-2024-december-2025/">two-year tenure</a> between 2024 to 2025, supporting <a href="https://onu.delegfrance.org/joint-statement-on-climate-peace-and-security-in-the-context-of-un-peace">statements</a> on the linkages between climate, peace, security and food insecurity.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Between 2015 and 2020, she coordinated the <a href="https://www.fao.org/home/en">Food and Agriculture Organization’s</a> (FAO) work with other UN organisations and its outreach to parliamentarians, particularly in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In her <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-06/carolyn-rodrigues-birkett-vision-en.pdf">vision statement</a> for the role, Birkett places a strong emphasis on climate finance and unmet sustainable development goals. She says: </p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“While trillions exist globally in potential financing, many developing countries continue to struggle with access. There has also been a profound shift in the risk landscape characterised by interconnected threats and climate-related challenges.” </p>
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<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The new secretary general, she says, must work with member states to “champion the implementation of existing commitments”. She adds that “there must be continued support to [m]ember [s]tates as they implement agreed” climate commitments.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If elected, Birkett <a href="https://www.un.org/sg/sites/default/files/document/2026-06/carolyn-rodrigues-birkett-vision-en.pdf">pledges</a> to use the secretary general’s convening powers to “bring all stakeholders together to address climate impacts and protect the environment”.</p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Next steps</h2>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">While parties were <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/how-will-next-un-chief-be-chosen-who-wants-job-2026-03-26/">encouraged</a> to submit their candidates by April 2026, they can continue to make nominations for the next UN secretary general until the <a href="https://turkiye.un.org/en/314189-who-will-lead-un-next-selection-process-gets-underway">end of July</a>. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">At this point, the 15-member security council will begin to discuss the candidates “<a href="https://turkiye.un.org/en/314189-who-will-lead-un-next-selection-process-gets-underway">behind closed doors</a>”. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Candidates will need to clear a “<a href="https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/monthly-forecast/2026-05/in-hindsight-the-search-for-the-next-secretary-general.php">straw poll</a>” vote by the council. These are informal, anonymous ballots to determine the viability of candidates. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Security council members have the option to “encourage” or “discourage” a candidate within these straw polls, as well as state that they have no opinion. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Polls are run numerous times until a consensus is found on a candidate. For example, when Guterres was selected in 2016, it took <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/how-will-next-un-chief-be-chosen-who-wants-job-2026-03-26/">six straw polls</a> for the council to reach agreement.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The selected candidate is then publicly put to a vote, in which non-permanent members of the council have a single vote and the five permanent members each have a power of veto.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">This results in a council “resolution”, recommending the appointment of a candidate. This resolution must secure support from nine out of 15 members and no vetoes to pass.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Subsequently, there is a formal vote by the UN general assembly to endorse the council’s recommendation – although <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/how-will-next-un-chief-be-chosen-who-wants-job-2026-03-26/">Reuters</a> notes that this final vote has “long been seen as a rubber stamp”.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Ultimately, the security council process is likely to be finalised between August and October, ahead of the general assembly formalising the appointment at the end of the year. </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The next secretary general is due to take office on 1 January 2027.</p>
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<p>The post <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-where-do-the-un-secretary-general-candidates-stand-on-climate-change/">Q&A: Where do the UN secretary general candidates stand on climate change?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org">Carbon Brief</a>.</p>