France has awarded the Legion d'honneur, one of its highest state honours, to International Energy Agency (IEA) executive director Fatih Birol.
Birol, a Turkish national, was named Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur by French President Emanuel Macron for his contributions to fighting climate change.
"I would like to thank President Macron for this distinction, which I share with my hard-working," Birol said on Twitter.
"I will continue to do my utmost to make the Paris Agreement's global energy & climate goals a reality."
Birol has served as executive director at the Paris-based IEA since 2015.
Last year he was included in Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people.
Also last year, the IEA said an immediate and massive deployment of clean energy technology will be needed for the world to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
