Patricia Espinosa, appointed last month to the position of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary, comes to the job with more than 30 years of experience in international relations. As UN News Centre explains, this “includes serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico from 2006 to 2012 and serving as her country’s representative to Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia and Germany, as well as to multilateral bodies and international organizations in Vienna, Geneva and New York.”

Ms. Espinosa recently spoke with the UN News Centre about her work and the challenges ahead.

UN News Centre: What do you hope to accomplish as Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC?

Patricia Espinosa: I am coming to the head of UNFCCC at a very exciting time. We have the approval of the Paris Agreement, which was an historic agreement, after many, many years of negotiations. Now we have on board a huge amount of political will of governments but also the willingness from private sectors, from civil society, from individuals every in the world, to work toward a low-carbon economy, a low-carbon society — global society. So I wish to make a contribution in that respect. I wish to support all those actors, governments, private sectors and civil societies — everybody who is willing to participate in this big challenge that has to do with the future of our planet.