Don Pepe's Daughter To
Be UN Climate
Change Chief
(Corrected)
The daughter of
Costa Rica's
former president
José María
Figueres Ferrer,
Christina
Figueres is to
be the new head
of the UN
climate
convention. The
appointment is
expected to be
confirmed later
this week, as
Figueres takes
over from
outgoing chief,
Yvo de Boer.
Sources close to
the UN said she
emerged as
front-runner
after an
intervention
from small
island states.
José María
Figueres Ferrer,
served as
president of
Costa Rica on
three occasions:
1948–1949,
1953–1958, and
1970–1974, and
known as the
"father" of
Costa Rica,
abolishing the
country's army,
nationalized its
banking sector,
and granted
women and blacks
the right to
vote.
The US-based
diplomat, is
also the
sister of
former Costa
Rican president
José María
Figueres Olsen
(1994-1998).
Christina Ferrer
emerged as the
undisputed front
runner only in
the last few
days, after a
number of small
island
developing
nations told UN
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon that
they preferred
someone from a
smaller
developing
country to the
other leading
candidate, South
African tourism
minister
Marthinus van
Schalkwyk.
Although
respected
personally,
small island
states that feel
threatened by
climate change
are understood
to have resisted
the appointment
of someone from
the BASIC bloc
of countries
(Brazil, China,
India and South
Africa), which
argued against
swingeing carbon
curbs at
December's UN
summit in
Copenhagen.
Ms Figueres has
chaired many
working groups
and committees
within the UN
climate
convention, and
is regarded as
having a deep
understanding of
its processes
and its
outstanding
issues.
Following her
confirmation,
her immediate
task will be to
rebuild
confidence in
the UN
negotiations in
the lead-up to
this year's
major summit in
Mexico at the
end of the year. |
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