Rachel Kyte

Rachel Kyte
CMG
UK Special Representative for Climate
Incumbent
Assumed office
21 October 2024-Present
Appointed byUK Government
Professor of Practice in Climate Policy, Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 2023 - Present
Personal details
Born1965 (age 60–61)
EducationUniversity of London (BA)
Tufts University (MA)

Rachel Elizabeth Kyte CMG (born 1965) is a climate diplomat, academic and international climate, energy and development policy expert currently serving as the UK Government's climate envoy. She is a Professor of Practice in Climate Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. and Dean Emerita at The Fletcher School at Tufts University where she served from October 2019 to June 2023, the first woman to lead the oldest graduate-only school of international affairs in the United States. She previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Sustainable Energy for All, and as Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All.

Early life and education

Kyte was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England in 1965, and raised in Boston, Lincolnshire. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and politics from the University of London and a master's degree in international relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

Career

Kyte has focused on affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy as the key to combating both poverty and climate change. From 2016 to 2019, Kyte managed SEforALL's work to mobilise action towards its 2030 goals of ensuring universal access to modern energy services; doubling the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency; and doubling the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix. As Special Representative for the Secretary-General, she was also the point person in the United Nations for action towards the Sustainable Development Goal 7 on sustainable energy.

Kyte served until December 2015 as World Bank Group Vice-President and Special Envoy for Climate Change, leading the Bank Group's efforts to campaign for an ambitious agreement at the 21st Convention of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 21). She was previously World Bank Vice-President for Sustainable Development and was the International Finance Corporation Vice-President for Business Advisory Services.

Kyte served as dean of The Fletcher School from October 2019 to June 2023, after which she was named Dean Emerita. On June 22, 2023, Kyte announced her intent to step down as Dean of the Fletcher School almost immediately, effective June 30, 2023. Details around her departure remain a mystery.

She was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to energy and combating climate change.

Kyte joined the advisory board of General Atlantic's climate change fund, BeyondNetZero, in July 2021.

On 21 October 2024, she was appointed UK Special Representative for Climate by the British Government. In June 2025, Kyte was criticised in the news for her carbon footprint. According to one report, "Kyte has clocked up 250,000 miles worth of official flights in less than two years in the job – and that includes business-class trips to glamorous locations such as Rio de Janeiro, Seoul and Barbados." This places Kyte in the top 1% of the world's carbon emitters.

Kyte is cited as a key diplomatic figure managing the friction between the UK's global net-zero commitments and domestic pressure to grant controversial new oil and gas drilling licenses in the North Sea. She warned in 2026 that governments must respond to climate impacts by investing in infrastructure, including modern transmission networks and safeguards against rising temperatures and volatile weather.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Rachel Kyte". GOV.UK. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  2. ↑ Harvey, Fiona (25 September 2024). "Labour appoints Rachel Kyte to climate envoy role axed by Sunak". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  3. ↑ "Blavatnik School appoints Rachel Kyte as Visiting Professor of Practice as COP 28 begins". Blavatnik School of Government. University of Oxford. 30 November 2023. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  4. ↑ "Rachel Kyte". Blavatnik School of Government. University of Oxford. 25 September 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  5. ↑ "Rachel Kyte | Blavatnik School of Government". www.bsg.ox.ac.uk. 27 November 2025. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Rachel Kyte Named Fletcher School Dean". Tufts Now. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  7. ↑ "Rachel Kyte steps down as dean of the Fletcher School". tuftsdaily.com. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "Rachel Kyte Q&A: "My carbon footprint is a source of deep discomfort"". New Statesman. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  9. ↑ "Mobilizing the Billions and Trillions for Climate Finance". Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  10. ↑ "Closing the $70 Billion Climate Finance Gap". Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  11. ↑ "BB plans to launch green' bond, says Atiur | TRADE & MARKET | The financial express". Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  12. ↑ "Rachel Kyte named Dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University". Sustainable Energy for All | SEforALL. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "Rachel Kyte steps down as dean of the Fletcher School". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  14. ↑ "Rachel Kyte steps down as dean of the Fletcher School". The Tufts Daily. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  15. ↑ "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N4.
  16. ↑ Karsh, Melissa (16 July 2021). "General Atlantic Targets $4 Billion for New Climate Strategy". Bloomberg Law.
  17. ↑ "Rachel Kyte". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  18. ↑ "Rachel Kyte appointed as the UK's Special Representative for Climate". GOV.UK. Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office; Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. 26 September 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  19. ↑ "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  20. ↑ "The world's top 1% of emitters produce over 1000 times more CO2 than the bottom 1% – Analysis". IEA. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "From ambition to implementation: Climate Innovation Forum 2026 set the pace for LCAW". Climate Action. 7 July 2026.