The contribution of Christiana Figueres to the decarbonization of Costa Rica and the World.

 

It is estimated that by 2050, the global population will rise to 9.7 billion, from 7.7 billion in 2019. The global economy is expected to more than double over the same period. Urbanization, automation, and the rise in living standards will increase the demand for energy globally. More than half of the world’s population now lives in cities and towns, and the United Nations projects that the global urban population will increase to around 68% by 2050.

If we continue with business as usual, this scale of expansion will accelerate climate change, and degrade the quality of air and water upon which all living organisms depend. To protect the environment without tempering economic growth, we need to redouble our commitment to reducing the consumption of energy and natural resources.

Can positivity help tackle the global climate emergency? The Stream, Al Jazeera English https://youtu.be/Mmn9JxPCpyI 

As the global energy transition from fossil fuels continues, the importance of diversifying green energy portfolios grows increasingly prevalent. Today, waste heat recovery is a competitive choice compared to other renewable energy sources, and offers several advantages over solar and wind power. With more than 20 years of experience in the power industry, Exergy – one of the leading providers of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems used to produce electricity from waste heat resources such as industrial processes and gas turbines and engines – offers some insight into the benefits waste heat recovery has over other renewables.

Growing numbers of people are experiencing climate anxiety as scientists, campaigners, and diplomats speak with increasing alarm about the global climate breakdown's unparalleled scale. News reports cover the impact of extreme weather and the loss of biodiversity.

Yet at this watershed moment for the world, can positivity and the celebration of seemingly small environmental wins energize collective efforts to tackle the crisis we face? Former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres keeps that question in mind while hosting the Outrage + Optimism podcast, highlighting the progress being made by campaigners, scientists, NGOs, and elected officials in the pursuit of a sustainable future – in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

In this episode of Feliz y Saludable, Christiana Figueres from Costa Rica, and three other special guests at The Stream, will talk about how a spirit of optimism can galvanize climate action and create groundbreaking results.

The truth is that the Costa Rican official Leading the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Karen Christiana Figueres Olsen, has been neither efficient nor effective in reversing the carbonization trend in her native Costa Rica. On the contrary, Costa Rica uses more fossil fuels every day than ever before, as in the rest of the world, surpassing the barrier of one hundred million barrels of oil per day.

After her tenure as Executive Secretary, Figueres worked as convenor of Mission 2020 and served as chair of the Advisory Board of The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change. She is a founder of the Global Optimism group, co-author of the book The Future We Choose, and co-host of the popular podcast Outrage and Optimism. 

Other activities include:
Chair of The Earth shot Prize Foundation 2021–present
B Team Leader (since 2016),
Impossible Foods, Member of the Board of Directors (2021).
Acciona, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2017).
Acciona Energía, Member of the Board of Directors (since 2021).
Eni, Member of the Advisory Board (since 2017).
Formula E, Co-Chair of the Global Advisory Board (since 2017).
International Olympic Committee (IOC), Member of the Sustainability and Legacy Commission.
World Resources Institute (WRI), Member of the Board of Directors.
Inter-American Dialogue, Member (since 1995). 

Figueres was born in San José, Costa Rica. Her father, José Figueres Ferrer, was President of Costa Rica three times. Figueres' mother, Karen Olsen Beck, served as Costa Rican Ambassador to Israel in 1982 and was a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1990 to 1994. The couple had four children. Figueres' older brother José Figueres Olsen, was also President of Costa Rica (1994–1998). 

As part of her studies in anthropology, she lived in Bribri, Talamanca, a remote indigenous village in the Southeastern plateau of Costa Rica for one year. She then went to the London School of Economics for a master's degree in social anthropology and graduated in 1981. Figueres' daughter Naima von Ritter-Figueres was born in Guatemala in March 1988, and daughter Yihana von Ritter-Figueres was born in Washington DC in December 1989. 

The five million Costa Ricans would feel happier if the initiatives to measure air pollution were put to the test in her native Costa Rica, and if she had opposed the president's decree to postpone indefinitely the new air quality standard in Costa Rica, which has been in force in the United States since 2010 and in Europe since 2014.

Emotion will not tackle the global climate emergency, only action will, and we see very little of that from the government, corporations, the media, and society in general.

Rafael Vilagut, San Jose - Costa Rica Wednesday, October 26, 2022, Entrepreneur, kindle-amazon Author 💰 investor, professor 💎 Travel lover 🌍 https://linktr.ee/ravilagut