Alvarez named first Asian chief of US climate board

MANILA, Philippines - Former Senator Heherson Alvarez became the first Asian to be named chairman of the United States Climate Institute's Advisory Board.

Alvarez, who served chief of the Climate Change Commission, was recently elected to the Washington-based post as announced by Climate Institute President John Topping last week.

"Heherson (Sonny) Alvarez, who has served on the Climate Institute’s board of advisors for over two decades, has recently assumed chairmanship of the board," Topping said in a statement.

The former lawmaker is said to be among the country's visionaries of climate change--a topic which Alvarez dedicated work in as early as the 1980s. He was also part of the 1971 Constitutional Commission and served two terms in the Senate.

Alvarez said that his designation comes at a time when the world is  "reeling from the disastrous impacts of climate change."