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Top UN climate official resigning

[March 19, 2010]  AMSTERDAM (AP) -- Yvo de Boer, the top U.N. climate change official, told The Associated Press Thursday that he was resigning after nearly four years, a period when governments struggled without success to agree on a new global warming deal.

His departure takes effect July 1, five months before 193 nations are due to reconvene in Mexico for another attempt to reach a binding worldwide accord on controlling greenhouse gases.

De Boer said from Bonn, Germany that he was announcing his departure now to allow U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to find a successor well before the Mexico conference.

The media-savvy former Dutch civil servant and climate negotiator was widely credited with raising the profile of climate issues through his frequent press encounters and his backstage lobbying of world leaders.

But his constant travel and frenetic diplomacy failed to bridge the suspicions and distrust between developing and industrial countries that barred the way to a final agreement at the climate change summit in Copenhagen in December.

De Boer told the AP he believes talks "are on track," although it was uncertain that a full treaty could be finalized at the next high-level conference in November.

The partial agreement reached in Copenhagen, brokered by President Barack Obama, "was very significant," he said But he acknowledged frustration that the deal fell short of consensus and was merely "noted" rather than formally adopted by all countries.

"We were about an inch away from a formal agreement. It was basically in our grasp, but it didn't happen," he said. "So that was a pity."

He said the disappointing Copenhagen outcome was unrelated to his decision to quit, and that he had begun looking for a new job last year before the summit.

But de Boer appeared to be more disheartened by the snail-paced negotiations than he was ready to admit.

"I saw him at the airport after Copenhagen," said Jake Schmidt, a climate expert for the U.S.-based Natural Resources Defense Council. "He was tired, worn out." The summit "clearly took a toll on him."

De Boer said he will be a consultant on climate and sustainability issues for KPMG, a global accounting firm, and will be associated with several universities.

[Associated Press; By ARTHUR MAX]

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