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The African Development Bank (AfDB) has announced the appointment of Anthony Nyong as the Director for Climate Change and Green Growth. In a statement issued on Monday, the bank said the appointment of Nyong, a Nigerian scholar, is effective from January 1st, 2017.

Before his latest appointment, Nyong was Manager for the Compliance and Safeguards Division of the AfDB since 2010, with responsibility for ensuring that all the bank’s investments deliver intended developmental benefits.

He holds a Ph.D. in Geography (Environment and Natural Resources Management) from McMaster University, Ontario, Canada, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Global Business (Energy) from the University of Oxford, England. He is also a Senior Executive Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, United States.

Nyong was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 – as a member of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – sharing the prize with Al Gore, former U.S. vice president.

“Anthony is a globally recognized leader on issues of climate change and green growth,” said Akinwumi Adesina, President of the AfDB. “His demonstrated leadership in the development and implementation of policies on climate change and green growth, and a thorough understanding of international developments in these areas, will help the Bank to deliver innovative solutions and financing to address climate change issues in Africa.”

A former Professor of Climate Change at the University of Jos, Nigeria, Nyong joined the AfDB in 2008 as the pioneer Climate Change Expert and built up the Bank’s first climate change initiatives. He was promoted to the Head the Climate Change, Gender and Sustainable Development Unit. He subsequently initiated the Bank’s Green Growth Agenda and worked on developmental issues to unlock Africa’s renewable energy potential.

Among several achievements at the bank, he led the development and implementation of AfDB’s first Climate Change Action Plan (2011-2015) that channeled resources into climate finance. Nyong also coordinated the development of the bank’s Second Climate Change Action Plan (2016-2020) that seeks to ensure that its High 5s build climate resilient and low-carbon development on the African continent.

He is also reputed to have mobilized substantial resources to set up the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa programme, during his time as a Senior Programme Specialist for the Canadian International Development Research Centre (IDRC). He also previously served on the Boards and Committees of several global initiatives on climate change and green growth.

AfDB also announced today the appointment of another Nigerian, Wale Shonibare, as the Director for Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulation.