News
2007
December 13
The Young President's Organization (YPO)
Chapter from Morocco, invited
President Figueres to address their members on the topic of
Climate Change and how the business community can contribute
to mitigating its effects.
José María shared with the participants in this
event his views on how governments and businesses need to
work together in order to make a lasting and effective impact
on mitigating Climate Change. Governments need to set up the
proper regulations, for the business community to then deploy
their entrepreneurial capabilities and create good business
opportunities out of lowering carbon emissions.
December 3
Together with the Ministry of Environment
of Spain, the Club de Madrid presented “The World Energy
Outlook 2007: China and India Insights Report”, published
by the International Energy Agency. José María
Figueres, a founding member of the Club de Madrid, addressed
the audience on the growing energy demand the world is experiencing
and its effects on Climate Change. He also shared with the
audience the work of the “Global Leadership for Climate
Action Task Force”, a joint initiative between the Club
de Madrid and the UN Foundation. This Task Force of which
Figueres is a member, has produced a proposal for a post 2012
Climate Change Framework Agreement, which would pave the way
for the world to reduce its carbon emissions and thus deal
with the challenge of Climate Change.
The launch which took place in Madrid, was moderated by the
Spanish Minister of Environment, Cristina Narbona. The other
speakers where Rafael Miranda, CEO of the global utility company
Endesa, and Faith Birol, director of the World Energy Outlook
series and Chief Economist of the International Energy Agency.
Links:
World
Energy Outlook
Global
Leadership for Climate Action
November 30
José Maria Figueres was the keynote
speaker at the Madrid launch of the Humanitarian Response
Index, an initiative by the independent non-profit organisation
DARA. During the launch, the Director of DARA, Silvia Hidalgo
explained the main goals and contributions of the Humanitarian
Response Index as a new tool for donors which will offer practical
information to improve the effectiveness of the humanitarian
response. The Project Director of the Index, Augusto Lopez-Claros,
presented the findings of the 2007 Index. The global launch
in London the previous day was keynoted by the Former UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan. Mr. Figueres is a member of the Advisory Board
of the Index, which counts among its members António
Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees and former Prime
Minister of Portugal, Diego Hidalgo, President of FRIDE, Larry
Minear, Honorary Member of ALNAP, Moisés Naím,
Editor of Foreign Policy Magazine, S. Iqbal Riza, Special
Advisor to the UN Secretary General on the Alliance of Civilisations,
Mary Robinson, President of the Ethical Globalization Initiative.
Former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner of Human
Rights, and Pierre Schori, Director General of FRIDE and Former
Minister of Development of Sweden.
The Humanitarian Response Index (HRI), is the first instrument
in the world to measure the individual performance of humanitarian
donors. The HRI focuses on the members of the OECD Development
Assistance Committee (Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada,
Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands, Portugal,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States,
and the European Commission) contrasting their performance
with that established in the Principles of Good Humanitarian
Donorship, defined and approved by the donors.
Link:
Humanitarian
Response Index
November 26
President Figueres was invited by the
OECD to participate in the presentation of the “Latin
America Economic Outlook 2008”, which took place in
Casa America, Madrid. Jose Maria Figueres addressed the audience
on the importance for Latin America to take full advantage
of the economic boom it enjoys to advance on two fronts: on
the one hand a comprehensive social cohesion program, to address
the real challenges of inequality and poverty. On the other
hand, the identification of activities throughout the region
with comparative advantages, to develop around them clusters
of true global competitiveness which would in turn continue
to fuel economic growth and job creation.
President Figueres participated in this activity with Trinidad
Jiménez, Secretary of State for Iberoamerica at the
Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ángel Torres,
Secretary of State for Political Economy and Competition at
the Spanish Ministry of the Treasury. The roundtable was moderated
by Andrés Ortega, editor of Foreign Policy Spanish
Edition.
Links:
OECD:
Presentation of the Latin American Economic Outlook 2008 in
Madrid
Europa
Press
América
Económica
November 21
In the community of Torrelodones outside
of Madrid, José María Figueres was invited by
the “Neighbours for Torrelodones” organization
(Vecinos por Torrelodones) to give a speech on the challenges
and opportunities that climate change is creating for local
communities.
Figueres shared with the audience his views on this critically
important challenge for humanity. He concluded that future
generations will look back on us and either congratulate us
for our leadership and courage in tackling this issue, or
will ponder in disbelief at our lack of action, hence leaving
future generations with the burden of greater adaptation and
suffering due to its consequences.
Link:
Vecinos
por Torrelodones
November 19-20
President José María Figueres
participated in the VI General Assembly and Annual Conference
of the Club de Madrid. The General Assembly is the highest
governing body of the Club de Madrid, of which José
María Figueres is a founding member. At the Annual
Conference on the theme “Democratizing Energy: Geopolitics
and Power”, José María Figueres participated
in the working group on the Americas.
The Annual Conference counted with the participation of more
than 40 members of the Club de Madrid, all democratically
elected former Heads of State or Government, including its
President, Ricardo Lagos, former President of Chile, and President
Clinton. The conference was also attended by the President
of Timor Leste, José Ramos Horta, as well as a number
of policy makers and international experts.
Link:
Club de Madrid
November 14
President Figueres gave the opening keynote
speech at the Second Annual IE Social Responsibility Forum,
organized by the Instituto de Empresa Business School in Madrid.
Speaking to the MBA students, Jose Maria Figueres emphasized
as the first responsibility of business its share holders,
however the equal importance of its responsibility to all
stakeholders businesses interacts with.
Furthermore he shared the view he has held for many years,
on how we will only be able to successfully deal with Climate
Change if the private sector sees good business opportunities
in doing so. To this effect governments must set up clear
regulatory frameworks, creating the conditions and incentives
for the business community to focus on different ways in which
green (for the environment) is transformed into additional
green (for profits).
Links:
2nd annual
IE Social Responsibility Forum
IE Business School
November 7
Rodolfo Martín Villa, Enrique Iglesias and
José María Figueres
President Figueres was invited to participate
in the opening plenary session of the Third Annual Iberoamerican
Business Forum in Santiago, Chile. This event was organized
by the General Secretariat for Ibero-America (SEGIB) and the
Chilean Confederation for Production and Commerce (CPC), in
preparation for the Latin American Presidential Summit. The
Forum was inaugurated by the President of Chile, Michelle
Bachellet.
At the conference, Jose Maria’s presentation addressed
the "Economic and Political agreements needed to improve
Social Cohesion". Enrique Iglesias, Secretary General
of the SEGIB and Rodolfo Martín Villa, Former Spanish
Deputy Prime Minister participated with Mr. Figueres in this
session.
President Figueres was emphatic in stating that only with
“better institutions” working alongside greater
“market entrepreneurship” would Latin America
be able to advance towards greater Social Cohesion. Given
the sustained economic growth of the region over the last
years, and its continued inequalities, the time is ripe for
Latin America to rethink how it takes on the challenging of
closing gaps and moving societies to be more inclusive. He
specifically mentioned six pragmatic actions that could be
undertaken in the short term to jump start the process.
Links:
General Secretariat
for Ibero-America (SEGIB)
Chilean
Confederation for Production and Commerce (CPC)
October 23
While visiting Kuwait, President Figueres
gave a lecture at the American University in Kuwait entitled
“Mitigating Climate Change: Our Responsibility with
the Next Generations”. The lecture portrayed the climate
change challenge we are already facing, and how the Middle
East can be at the forefront of environmental friendly policies
and sustainable development. His presentation was attended
by a number of students, staff and members of the diplomatic
corps.
The American University of Kuwait (AUK) is an independent,
private, equal opportunity, and co-educational liberal arts
institution of higher education. It is dedicated to providing
students with knowledge, self-awareness, and personal growth
experiences that can enhance critical thinking, effective
communication, and respect for diversity. AUK seeks to create
leaders and life-long learners who aspire to the highest standards
of moral and ethical responsibility in their societies.
The lecture was facilitated and organized
by two Kuwaiti companies, National Projects Holding and Equilibrium
Consulting. National Projects Holding Co. is rapidly becoming
a leader in environmental concerns throughout the region,
and has recently partnered with Earthwatch Institute to give
fellowships to study Climate Change. Equilibrium Consulting
(eqcco) is a consulting company serving the Middle East region.
Equilibrium works with companies and individuals by steering
them towards environmental and social responsibility.
Links :
The American
University of Kuwait
The
American University of Kuwait Hosts Former President of Costa
Rica
National
Projects Holding Co.
Equilibrium Consulting
September 26-28
President Figueres was invited to participate
in the Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI),
which took place in New York. This event convenes over a 1,000
leaders from the worlds of politics, business, academics and
civil society.
The working program was organized around 4 tracks: Energy
and Climate Change; Poverty; Education; and Health. In each
one of these thematic areas a series of dialogues broadens
understanding on the principal global challenges, and possible
solutions are discussed. CGI actively promotes partnerships
amongst the represented sectors to work on different programs
related to the 4 themes.
Given his work in the environment and technology, President
Figueres participated mainly in the Energy and Climate Change,
and the Poverty tracks.
Links:
Clinton
Foundation
Clinton
Global Initiative
September 20-21
The Carolina Foundation and the Euroamerica
Foundation organized the II Spain-Iberoamerica Conference
on Corporate Social Responsibility, inaugurated be
Pedro Solbes, Second Vice-President of Spain and Minister
of Economics, and Emilio Botin, President of the Santander
Bank. The objective of this event was to explore the different
initiatives that improve the quality of Corporate Social Responsibility,
as well as public - private partnerships.
President Figueres, together with Enrique Iglesias, Iberoamerican
Secretary General and Ex-President of IDB, and Ros Tennyson,
Director of the Partnering Initiative at the International
Business Leaders Forum, were the discussion leaders in a Plenary
Session.
President Figueres talked about the convenience of promoting
public private partnerships that help development objectives.
He called for more of these partnerships to promote the deployment
and use of information - communication - technologies in Latin
America. At the Global Level, he argued for these partnerships
to become much more active in mitigating the effects of Climate
Change.
News:
Los
Tiempos
Links:
Carolina
Foundation
Euroamerica
Foundation
Secretaría
General Iberoamericana
International
Business Leaders Forum
September 18
The Spanish Business School EOI (Escuela de Organización
Industrial) was a pioneer in developing post-graduate education
in sustainable development with more than three decades of
teaching environmental studies and hundreds of graduates committed
to implementing sustainable development in the Spanish corporate
world.
Celebrating EOI’s longstanding commitment to sustainable
development and environmental studies, José María
Figueres gave the keynote speech at conference 30 years of
sustainable progress in Madrid. In his speech, Jose Maria
highlighted the need for new international leadership to efficiently
advance the goals of sustainable development as well as the
need for globalization process to be more just and integrate
developing countries much more than at present. Figueres also
proposed a new strategic alliance framework, bringing together
intergovernmental organizations, businesses and civil society
to promote sustainable development.
The conference, which was presided over by the Spanish Minister
of Environment, Cristina Narbona, also included a speech by
Amalio de Marichalar, President of Forum Soria 21 –
Sustainable Development Association.
Links:
EOI
Spanish Ministry
of Environment
Forum Soria
21 – Sustainable Development
September 13-14
President Figueres with Mrs. Ana María Correa,
Under-Secretary
of Economy of Chile.
II IBEROAMERICAN ENCOUNTER ON ICT AND THE
OBJECTIVES OF THE MILLENNIUM DECLARATION OF THE UN
The General Secretariat for Ibero-America
(SEGIB), ECLAC, the Government of Chile and AHCIET, organized
a meeting in Santiago de Chile, with the purpose of making
a meaningful contribution to the agenda of the next Ibero-American
Summit, which brings together heads of State and Government
from the region to discuss about technology and communications.
Private sector, public sector and civil society attended the
meeting in Santiago, at which President Figueres was invited
to deliver the keynote presentation on how deployment of ICT
(Information, Communication, and Technology) can help achieve
the objectives of the Millennium Declaration of the UN.
Links:
SEGIB
ECLAC
AHCIET
August 31 - September 1
In a Plenary Session together with Federal
Counseller and Vice-President of Switzerland, Pascal Couchepin,
José María Figueres participated in UNILIB '07,
the yearly activity convened by the Swiss Liberal Party. Both
shared their perspectives with the audience on the conditions
in developed and developing nations that best enable the advancement
of democracy and opportunities for well-being.
Interview:
L'AGEFI
August 29-30
On these dates José María
Figueres participated as the keynote speaker in the Abraaj
Private Equity Forum, convened by ABRAAJ CAPITAL. This financial
company is the leader in private equity throughout the arab
world. It has become increasingly interested in the business
opportunities involved in the environmental field - topic
on which President Figueres gave his presentation.
Links:
ABRAAJ CAPITAL
July 11
On 11 July, President Figueres was invited
by the AHCIET (Latin American Association of Telephone Research
Centres and Companies) as keynote speaker at the 25th Anniversary
Meeting of its foundation. President Figueres spoke about
the need to move towards an information society in Latin America,
as a catalyst condition to advance towards the knowledge economy.
Links:
AHCIET
La
Nación
Select Press Coverage:
La Prensa
Libre
June 21
On 21 June, José María Figueres
participated as guest speaker of honour in the convention
“48 hours with Telefónica”. The event,
organised by the multinational on an annual basis, brings
together the company’s most important corporative clients.
Before an audience of over 500 people, President Figueres
spoke on “Climate Change” and the important role
companies can play in mitigating the causes of the current
environmental crisis.
Pulso
Magazine (Telefónica)
June 5-6
On the 5th and 6th of June, President Figueres
participated at the 2007 edition of the Ibero-American Business
Forum in Washington D.C., where he led the debate “Where
are we all going? Scenarios for Latin America”. Given
his work in the field of education, he was also called to
moderate a session on higher education, entitled “Are
universities in Latin America failing the private sector?”.
This Forum is the only Forum that brings together business
leaders from Spain, the US, and Latin America. The Forum was
hosted by Foreign Policy, CAF (Corporación Andina de
Fomento) and FRIDE.
Forum
Programme
Links:
Corporación
Andina de Fomento (CAF)
Foreign
Policy
FRIDE
31 May-2 June
Jose Maria Figueres and the President of the
Dominican Republic
Invited by the National Competitiveness
Council of the Dominican Republic (Consejo Nacional de Competitividad),
President Figueres visited the country between the 31st of
May and the 2nd of June. His activities there included a lecture
at the Presidential Palace as President Leonel Fernández’s
guest of honour, and a presentation on Climate Change. The
lecture at the Presidential Palace, “Sustainable Development
and Competitiveness”, was held on the 1st of June and
televised live to the entire country. President Figueres outlined
possible scenarios for the Dominican Republic to increase
its Competitiveness in the global market place through the
adoption of an agenda based on the principles of Sustainable
Development. The audience included President Fernández
and the First Lady Cedeño de Fernández, Vice
President Albuquerque de Castro, as well as a number of high
level officials and representatives of the Diplomatic corps.
The day before, President Figueres held a presentation on
the Challenges of Climate Change based on Al Gore’s
“An Inconvenient Truth”, at the Autonomous University
of Santo Domingo. This is the principal university of the
country, and the oldest one in all of Latin America. His speech
was also broadcast by video link to four other universities
in the Dominican Republic.
Link:
Consejo
Nacional de Competitividad
Select Press Coverage:
Dominican Today:
Figueres highlights Dominican competitiveness
Listin Diario: El
mensaje de José María Figueres
Listin Diario: El
ex presidente Figueres cita retos América Latina
Clave Digital: Figueres
aconseja a dominicanos aprovechar el mercado de Haití
Terra: Figueres
pide a los gobiernos salvar el planeta del cambio climático
El Caribe:
Propone una zona franca Haití-RD
May 22-23
President Figueres participated in the
first meeting of the Global Leadership for Climate Action
Task Force (GLCA) held in Madrid, on 22 and 23 May. This effort
is a joint initiative between the United Nations Foundation
and the Club de Madrid. The objectives of the GLCA are:
1. Mobilize political will and invigorate international negotiations
to reach an agreement on climate change beyond 2012;
2. Develop a framework for addressing the principles and challenging
issues of such a negotiation.
Links:
Club
de Madrid
United
Nations Foundation
May 18
On 18 May President Figueres participated
in the Board of Directors Meeting of the Earth Council Geneva,
of which he is a founding member. Earth Council Geneva was
established in 2001 in Geneva, Switzerland. It is part of
the Earth Council organization founded at the Earth Summit
in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The organization’s mission
is to support and empower people in building a more secure,
equitable and sustainable future. Its ambition is to be a
technologically advanced service NGO with fund and project
management capabilities and a deep commitment to learning.
Link:
Earth
Council Geneva
April 22-23
Invited by Abraaj Capital Ltd, the largest
equity investment financial corporation in the Middle East
region, José María Figueres visited Dubai to
discuss with Abraaj executives how climate change will affect
the business environment in the region. Mr. Figueres also
shared his views on climate change with the members of the
Capital Club in Dubai, composed of leading CEO’s from
the region. He then delivered Al Gore's presentation, "An
Inconvenient Truth" to 5th and 6th graders at the Dubai
American Academy.
Links:
Abraaj
Capital Ltd.
Gulf News: Pacific
Islands to become scuba diving areas
April 19-20
On April 19-20, José María
Figueres participated in the Green Poder Forum, organized
by the Poder Magazine, which gathered business, political
and academic leaders to discuss the important issue of the
environment. Figueres participated on the panel entitled Climate
Change and Climate Variability. José María focused
his presentation on the 'energy equation', and how governments,
the private sector, NGOs and private citizens can be active
in this field. The panel was moderated by Michael Grunwald
of The Washington Post.
Links:
Green
Poder Forum Website
Al
Día News (article)
March 20
On March 20, José María Figueres
chaired the session “Climate Change: an inconvenient
truth for the Tourism sector”, within the International
Conference on Secure and Sustainable Living(Madrid, March
19-22), organised by the World Meteorological Organisation
and the Spanish Ministry of the Environment. The panellists
discussed on how changing climatic conditions are posing new
risks to the tourism industry and the need to improve their
capacity to adapt in order to maintain its viability, to continue
generating the socio-economic benefits for the host communities
and to provide quality experiences for tourists.
Link:
World
Meteorological Organisation
January 28
On January 28, José María
Figueres was invited to deliver the keynote speech at the
Inaugural UAE Global Climate Change Conference, entitled ‘Global
Warming: The Role of the Business Community’. During
his presentation, President Figueres emphasised the need for
the rapidly developing nations of the Middle East to take
a leading role in tackling climate change, and integrate climate
mitigating policies and practices in their business models.
To this end, Jose Maria mentioned concrete ways by which the
UAE could become a leader in its environmental policies, and
therefore an example for other nations in the region to follow.
Link:
Dubai
Recycling Park
Selected Press Review:
Business Intelligence Middle East: Report
from the UAE's first conference on global climate change
AME Info: Dubai
Recycling Park hosts UAE's inaugural Conference on Global
Climate Change
January 15
On 15 January 2007, José María
Figueres was appointed to the Advisory Committee of the Dubai
Recycling Park.
Link:
Dubai
Recycling Park
January 10-12
President Figueres participated in the
Madrid+15 Conference, organized with two specific purposes
in mind. On the one hand, to commemorate the Madrid Conference
held 15 years ago, which brought together all the actors in
the Middle East and laid the foundations for the Oslo Process.
On the other hand, to convene all relevant actors of past
regional peace initiatives, in an effort to lay the groundwork
that would lead to the launching of a new peace process. During
the last years President Figueres has traveled extensively
and worked on different technology projects in the Arab World.
Recently, he was appointed to the ACIPP Qualification Advisory
Board Committee of the Arab Society for Intellectual Property.
Link:
Madrid+15
January 8
On 8 January 2007, José María
Figueres was appointed to the ACIPP Qualification Advisory
Board Committee of the Arab Society for Intellectual Property.
Link:
Arab Society
for Intellectual Property
|
