What happened
Antonio Guterres is due to step down as United Nations secretary-general on 31 December, at the end of his second five-year term. The choice of successor has become a major issue for governments and leaders meeting for the UN General Assembly in New York.
Guterres has made climate change a prominent part of his tenure, repeatedly pressing governments to cut greenhouse-gas emissions and challenging fossil-fuel interests. Climate specialists and civil-society representatives now fear that a successor could give the issue less weight.
The report identifies Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, former Senegalese president Macky Sall and Ugandan former presidential candidate Olara Otunnu among contenders attracting concern. Observers cited Grossi’s relationships with Donald Trump and Argentine president Javier Milei, Sall’s possible support for gas development in Africa, and the political pressure Otunnu could face given Uganda’s planned oil and gas development.
Other potential candidates have more established climate-related credentials. Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett has advocated Indigenous peoples’ rights, social development and fairer finance. Costa Rican economist Rebeca Grynspan has argued that climate and developing-country debt challenges should be addressed together. Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet has reportedly withdrawn from the race.
Why it matters
The next secretary-general will take office during a more difficult period for climate diplomacy, according to the experts cited. They point to stronger geopolitical barriers, fossil-fuel interests supported by high fuel-price profits, unresolved climate-finance gaps for poorer countries and the potential emissions impact of artificial intelligence.
For businesses following international climate policy, the succession matters because the UN remains a central forum for climate action. The material does not describe any new corporate obligation for Türkiye or the EU, but it highlights electrification and climate finance as areas likely to remain under discussion.
Background
Guterres’s forceful language on climate policy helped keep the Paris Agreement’s objectives in view despite populism and misinformation, according to the report. However, Carlos Lopes of the University of Cape Town’s Nelson Mandela School of Public Governance warned that climate issues risk being moved down the diplomatic agenda without much public attention.
What's next
Governments meeting in New York are expected to focus on the succession process. Guterres leaves on 31 December. COP31, scheduled for Antalya in November, is also expected to feature electrification among its important subjects.
