Christiana Figueres

Christiana Figueres is a Costa Rican environmental activist and diplomat who has been at the forefront of global efforts to address climate change since 2010. Through her leadership of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, she was instrumental in helping to reach the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015. She is the author of three books, The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis, The Future We Need: Rethinking Paths to Sustainability, and Mission 2020: A Global Call for Leadership on Climate Change and Sustainability.

Born in San José, Costa Rica in 1956, Figueres spent much of her childhood in the United States, where her father was the Costa Rican ambassador. She studied at Harvard University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in biology and physics, and then at the London School of Economics, where she gained a Master of Science degree in anthropology. She later received a Master of Public Administration degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Figueres has had a long and illustrious career in public service, which began in 1978 with the United Nations Environment Programme, where she worked on the environmental consequences of regional conflicts. She went on to serve in various capacity in both the public and private sectors. In 1995, she became the Deputy Minister of Planning and Environment in Costa Rica, where she put an emphasis on sustainable development policies. In 2002, she became the country’s first Climate Change Director.

In 2010, Figueres was appointed as the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – the group charged with launching the global effort to limit global emissions of greenhouse gases. As head of the Convention, she worked for five years to bring together 194 countries to sign the historic Paris Agreement, which laid the groundwork for the global community to transition to a low-carbon future.

Her work on the Paris Agreement earned her numerous awards and accolades, including being named a “World Hero” by Fortune magazine in 2015 and the ‘Champion of the Earth’ by the United Nations in 2016.

Figueres’ three books reflect her passion for uniting science, ethics, and public policy in the pursuit of environmental sustainability. In The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis, she outlines two possible futures for our planet and the choices each of us are making today that will determine which of them comes to fruition. In The Future We Need: Rethinking Paths to Sustainability, Figueres takes a hard look at the climate crisis and how we must move beyond outdated methods of managing the environment in order to create a sustainable future. Finally, in Mission 2020: A Global Call for Leadership on Climate Change and Sustainability, she outlines a 10-step plan for creating a sustainable future by the end of this decade.

In her books and her public appearances, Figueres has inspired countless individuals, communities, and countries to take action to make the world a better place. Her leadership in the fight against climate change has been remarkable, and she continues to speak out on the issue and call for collective action to ensure a safe and sustainable future.