Monique Barbut, appointed this Sunday, October 12, Minister of Ecological Transition to succeed Agnès Pannier-Runacher, has a solid career in public and international service that has taken her to the United Nations and the WWF.
At 69 years old, Monique Barbut succeeds Agnès Pannier-Runacher in every government since 2018, a faithful supporter of Emmanuel Macron from the beginning, who chose not to be re-elected in the Lecornu 2 government, in the name of “the rupture.”
He inherits a position that has seen his room for maneuver reduced, between environmental setbacks, budget cuts and attacks against renewable energies or national environmental agencies, widely denounced by his predecessor.
A career at the service of environmental protection
The appointment of Monique Barbut to the position of Minister of Ecological Transition, Biodiversity and International Negotiations on Climate and Nature, occurs less than a month before the opening of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, COP30, which takes place in Belem, Brazil, from November 10 to 21.
Until then, Monique Barbut had spent part of her career in international positions serving environmental protection.
In particular, she was president of the environmental NGO WWF between 2021 and 2023, after having held the position of executive secretary of the United Nations (UN) Convention to combat desertification, between 2013 and 2019.
In 2019, she was appointed special envoy of the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron for biodiversity within the framework of the One Planet Summit.
Managing Director of the Global Environment Facility
He also headed the technology, industry and economics division of the United Nations Environment Program between 2003 and 2006.
From 2006 to 2012, she served as President and CEO of the Global Environment Facility.
Previously, Monique Barbut followed a long career in public service, at the French Development Agency (AFP), where she began her career in 1981, as project director in Réunion. She held several senior positions as director, particularly in relation to overseas departments and territories, until 2003.
Born on August 22, 1956, Monique Barbut has a degree in English language and a diploma of advanced studies (DEA) in economics.
Source: BFM TV
