Christiana Figueres

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Figueres and the second or maternal family name is Olsen.
Christiana Figueres
DBE
Figueres in 2018
Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
In office
1 July 2010 – 18 July 2016
Secretary-
General		Ban Ki-moon
Preceded byYvo de Boer
Succeeded byPatricia Espinosa
Personal details
Born
Karen Christiana Figueres Olsen

(1956-08-07) 7 August 1956 (age 68)
San José, Costa Rica
ChildrenNaima
Yihana
Parents
Alma materSwarthmore College
London School of Economics
WebsiteOfficial website
External videos
video icon Christiana Figueres: The case for stubborn optimism on climate, TED Talks, 2020
video icon Christiana Figueres: What I Really Care About, GOOD Magazine, 2020
video icon Former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres says Australia needs to ditch coal, Matter Of Fact With Stan Grant, ABC News, 2018

Karen Christiana Figueres Olsen (born 7 August 1956) is a Costa Rican diplomat who has led national, international and multilateral policy negotiations. She was appointed Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in July 2010,[1][2] six months after the failed COP15 in Copenhagen.[3] During the next six years she worked to rebuild the global climate change negotiating process,[4] leading to the 2015 Paris Agreement, widely recognized as a historic achievement.[5]

Over the years Figueres has worked in the fields of climate change, technical and financial cooperation, energy, land use and sustainable development. In 2016, she was Costa Rica's candidate for the United Nations Secretary General[6] and was an early frontrunner, but decided to withdraw after garnering insufficient support.[7] She is a founder of the Global Optimism group,[8] co-author of The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis (2020) along with Tom Rivett-Carnac,[9] and co-host of the popular podcast Outrage and Optimism.[10]

  1. ^ "Christiana Figueres appointed new UN climate chief to continue global talks". The Guardian. 18 May 2010. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Secretary-General Appoints Christiana Figueres of Costa Rica as Executive Secretary of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change". United Nations. 17 May 2010.
  3. ^ Dvorsky, George (7 January 2010). "Five simple reasons why the Copenhagen Climate Conference failed". Sentient Developments.
  4. ^ Parfitt, Ben (19 February 2016). "Nicholas Stern responds to news that Christiana Figueres will step down from UNFCCC role". Grantham Research Institute, London School of Economics.
  5. ^ Worland, Justin (12 December 2015). "World Approves Historic 'Paris Agreement' to Address Climate Change".
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "The Future We Choose | Climate Crisis & Solutions Book | Global Optimism".
  10. ^ "Outrage + Optimism Podcast". Retrieved 14 October 2022.