Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the United Nations Climate Convention, announced his resignation, on 18 February, the move taking effect as of 1 July 2010. Before being appointed to this position, in September 2006, he was already actively involved in the EU’s environmental and climate policy in his role as deputy director-general at the Dutch Ministry of Environment. He was also vice-president of the United Nations Committee for Sustainable Development, an advisor to the Chinese government and the World Bank on sustainable development and worked with the World Council for Sustainable Development. Yvo de Boer said he would continue to work towards unblocking international climate negotiations between now and 1 July. He will then join the consultancy group KPMG as an advisor on climate and sustainability. “I have always maintained that while governments provide the necessary policy framework, the real solutions must come from business,” Yvo de Boer said.