Ovais Sarmad
Ovais Sarmad is a leading figure in international climate diplomacy and governance, known for steering the UNFCCC Secretariat’s operations during critical global climate negotiations.
He served as the Deputy Executive Secretary / Assistant Secretary-General at United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for COP23 to COP 27 (2017 to 2023) during which he managed the secretariat operations, advised Executive Secretaries on a range of issues relating to the strategic operations planning and development of the organization. In this role was deeply involved in the completion of the Paris Agreement implementation guidelines, finalization of Article 6 at Glasgow and the establishment of a Loss & Damage fund at Sharm-el-Sheikh. He contributed to and spoke at various fora at the global level on climate change, migration and multilateralism and engaged in public policy discourse and development.
Prior to UNFCCC, he served as Director of Cabinet & Chief of Staff to the Director General at the the International Organization for Migration (IOM). He worked in several management and policy development capacities in IOM over a period of 27 years.
Prior to the IOM, he worked in the private and public sectors in London, where he qualified as a Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA) & Chartered Global Management Accountant (GCMA) in 1988 after having graduated from Osmania University in Hyderabad, India, as a Bachelor of Commerce in 1982.
Currently, he serves as the Vice Chair of Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG)-Protocol Steering Committee and his other areas of focus include engaging with and supporting activities and organizations around the world (a) that promise to innovate and accelerate sustainable development and growth; (b) to contribute to public policy discourse and development; (c) to empower youth through quality education at all levels and (d) to advise, mentor and coach individuals and organizations in multilateralism, diplomacy, geopolitical issues on climate change and migration and organizational change and development.