Paul Watkinson has a long high-level professional experience in France, Europe and internationally in the fields of climate change, sustainable development, multilateral diplomacy, public administration and policy development.
He led the French delegation to the United Nations climate conferences for many years, was one of the lead negotiators of the European Union in those talks from Copenhagen in 2009 to Warsaw in 2013, and he was a senior member of the team that prepared and ran COP21 and enabled the adoption of the Paris Agreement in December 2015. He was elected chair of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice in 2018 and 2019.
He has a strong personal commitment to a just transition to a sustainable future involving a deep transformation of economies and societies that is fair and equitable for all.