6 May 2006 - The Steering Committee of REN21 held its fourth meeting in New York 6-7 May 2006. At the meeting organised back-to-back with the fourteenth session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-14), the Steering Committee elected Mr. Mohamed T. El-Ashry as new Chairman.

Mr. El-Ashry is succeeding to Mr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, who had been serving as the Committee's Chair since the official founding of REN21 in June 2005. The Steering Committee thanked Dr. Pachauri for his support during the important first year of REN21's existence, and looked forward working with Dr. El-Ashry for the next two years that coincide with the CSD-14/15 cycle, in which sustainable energy will feature high on the international agenda.

Mr. El-Ashry is Senior Fellow with the UN Foundation. He had served as Chief Executive Office and Chairman of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) from July 1994 to July 2003. Prior to joining the GEF, he had served as the Chief Environmental Adviser at the World Bank, as Senior Vice President of the World Resources Institute, and as Director of Environmental Quality with the Tennessee Valley Authority. Mr El-Ashry has also served as an advisor to several UN agencies, held teaching and research positions at a number of academic institutions, and is a member of several associations and panels. He has received numerous international awards and honors and is the author of three books and more than 200 papers and articles.