Interview: Despite a Rough Ride, Yvo de Boer Departs an Optimist

For four years, Yvo de Boer, the United Nations’ chief climate negotiator, has faced the daunting challenge of persuading nearly 200 nations that it’s in their interests to begin weaning themselves from the fossil fuels that make the world go ‘round. As he prepares to leave his post, de Boer says he is not discouraged by the failure to reach agreement on binding CO2 cuts in Copenhagen last December. In an interview with Yale Environment 360, de Boer says that the world community now squarely acknowledges the dangers posed by climate change and that since Copenhagen 127 countries have backed the Copenhagen Accord, with many agreeing to voluntary emissions reductions targets. The key, he says, is convincing all nations, particularly developing ones, that tackling climate change is in their long-term economic interests. De Boer says he is more optimistic today than when he assumed his position in 2006, convinced that the world community will one day realize the economic and environmental benefits of making the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. “I really do believe,” says de Boer, “that once we take the first serious bites of this, we’ll actually find it tastes quite good.”

Read the interview