Yannick Glemarec to be new chief of Green Climate Fund to tackle global warming

The $8 billion Green Climate Fund, set up to help developing nations tackle global warming, named Yannick Glemarec of France as its new executive director on Monday after his predecessor quit. Former leader Howard Bamsey of Australia stepped down in July after what the fund described as a "difficult" board meeting marred by disputes between rich and poor nations about how to select projects in developing nations.

"Yannick Glemarec brings 30 years of experience in climate change, development, finance and their inter-relationships," the fund said in a statement. He has previously had senior jobs at U.N. Women and the U.N. Development Programme. The Fund, set up in South Korea in 2014, is trying to help developing nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt their economies to extremes such as floods, droughts, downpours and rising sea levels.

It has been plagued by internal disputes and U.S. President Donald Trump denounced it as a waste of taxpayer dollars. He halted U.S. contributions as part of his decision to leave the 2015 Paris climate agreement. Trump's decision cut the fund to $8 billion from $10 billion originally pledged. The United States under President Barack Obama promised a total of $3 billion but had provided just $1 billion by the time Trump took office. The fund has a portfolio of 93 projects in developing nations worth about $4.6 billion. It had been led by interim chief Javier Manzanares of Spain since Bamsey quit.