Jose Maria Figueres, held a live chat from Copenhagen on RTVE about the COP15 negotiations and Climate Change. You can read his answers by following this link.
December 6
On the first day of COP15 (the Climate Change Summit taking place in Copenhagen), and as part of his program at this Summit, President Figueres moderated the inaugural plenary in which representatives of civil society participated together with the Danish Primer Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen. Business, science, and NGOs presented their viewpoints on Climate Change during the debate.
The plenary can be seen at UNFCCC Webcast
December 5
During his participation at the Tallberg Forum (Sweden, June 2009), President Figueres proposed the creation of a Global Observatory, charged with the responsibility of translating the complex negotiation process on Climate Change, into common day language for more people around the world to understand both the challenge and the opportunity that mitigating Climate Change represents.
During the Climate Change Summit (COP15) that will be held from 6 to 18 December in Copenhaguen, Denmark, the Global Observatory will function from the negotiating center, where President Figueres will be.
More: Global Observatory
November 10th
On November 10, the 2009 edition of the Humanitarian Response Index (HRI) was launched in Washington D.C. at the Brookings Institution. Jose Maria Figueres is a member of the Board of DARA, creators of the HRI, as well as a member of the Advisory Board of the HRI and he participated both at the launch and the preceding press conference held at the National Press Club.
Now in its third year, the Humanitarian Response Index annually measures how well 22 of the world’s main donor governments plus the European Commission, comply with best practices for humanitarian aid, which were established in 2003. Endorsed by Kofi Annan and Jeffrey D. Sachs, the HRI includes field research in 13 humanitarian crises and helps hold government donors to account for the quality and effectiveness of the aid they provide. During the press conference, President Figueres affirmed that “More than a quarter of a billion people are affected by natural disasters and conflicts every year, and with the effects of climate change these numbers will surely rise further”.
President Figueres and the other members of the Energy Advisory Group met with Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki Moon, at the United Nations in New York. During the working day the reviewed the global energy outlook, and discussed different ways in which the world can continue to satisfy energy demand, and at the same time lower carbon emissions to help in the fight against Climate Change.
October 21
SØREN SCHNOOR/Politiken
Convinced that COP 15 must be a success – no matter how hard we need to work on this becoming a reality– President Figueres has strived to support the Copenhagen COP 15 negotiation process.
Together with a group of collaborators from around the world, he launched the Global Observatory, which will report in ‘real time’ events at Copenhagen, and explain them in every day language for people’s around the world.During the last of this frequent trips to Copenhagen, President Figueres was interviewed by Politiken, the leading Danish newspaper. Read the interview.
October 14-16
President Figueres participated in the annual meeting of the G50, celebrated in Madrid, Spain. The G50 was constituted seventeen years ago, and since then has brought together the top fifty business persons in Latin America. Moisés Naím, editor of the prestigious Foreign Policy Magazine chairs the G50. Jose Maria shared with participants his perspectives on the current situation in Latin America, as well as the future opportunities he sees for the region.
Invited to participate for the fifth consecutive year in the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), President Figueres is one of the very few leaders that has participated in every event of this organization since its inception. In this years program, Jose Maria led together with Luis Alberto Moreno, President of the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), a work session entitled “Latin American and Caribbean Action Network”. President Figueres shared with participants his view on Latin American trends, and future challenges.
There are only 100 days left until COP15 in Copenhagen, by far the most important international negotiations for the future of humanity. It is absolutely crucial that COP15 delivers a high quality agreement that provides a roadmap towards the low carbon economy. If we fail on this occasion, it will be harder to rectify in the future. Every year we wait the cost of mitigation and adaptation increases. We, citizens need to forcefully show our leaders that WE CARE about climate change and the deal that they are going to make in Copenhagen. You have 100 days left: make sure your voice gets heard! If you wish more information about what is happening in Copenhagen, I encourage you to visit the Global Observatory.
August 27
In analyzing the position of Costa Rica as a Latin American investment hub, Ricardo Enerst, Professor at Georgetown University and Commentator on CNN Español, highlights the advanced technological infrastructure as well as political stability as key drivers. A milestone in developing this technological infrastructure was the establishment of INTEL in Costa Rica, thanks to President Figueres’ personal efforts.
June 26-28
At the Tällberg Forum in Sweden José María Figueres presented the Global Observatory concept, where it was enthusiastically embraced by almost 1,000 participants. A group of them was inspired to begin working on making the concept a reality, and with them we are well underway. You can learn more about the project at Global Observatory.
23-24 June
President Figueres participated at the Global Humanitarian Forum, celebrated in Geneva, Switzerland, and chaired by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. While at the GHF, Jose Maria participated with Kumi Naidoo in the plenary session entitled “Leadership for Copenhagen”.
The session addressed the following issues: Climate change is a tremendous test of leadership. The people of every nation deserve protection from the indiscriminate impacts of climate change. All nations must be on board, and only an agreement that is perceived to be fair would survive successful ratification and implementation in every single country. Success in Copenhagen is in the true interest of all the world’s constituents. But the time-horizons in play are in many cases well beyond the next election cycle. So in a time of economic hardship, many leaders will be forced to make unpopular decisions for the short-term. What options do leaders themselves have for managing these complexities so as to arrive at a successful deal? And what can be done to promote visionary leadership in the short run-up to Copenhagen? You can watch the videos of this session:
Presidente Figueres observes mobil telefone equipment powered
with renewable energy.
President Figueres participated in the GSM Mobile World Congress, held in Barcelona, Spain. This event, which brought together over 2,800 CEOs and more than 47,000 persons, gathers each year the most relevant personalities in the world of mobile communications and technology. As part of his work, President Figueres follows closely the advancements in the world of technology, and their multiple applications to development challenges around the world.
More than 47,000 persons visited de GSM World Congress.
President Figueres was elected President of the Board of Directors of the 'Global Fairness Innitiative', until now presided by President William J. Clinton. This organization was created in 2002 to extend the benefits of the global economy to all; to raise living standards for people living in poor countries and marginalized groups; and to foster healthy middle classes in all nations. We accomplish our mission by identifying and supporting innovative and successful initiatives that create and equitably distribute wealth and promote healthy, sustainable living. Because international trade and finance rules and institutions play such important roles in the creation and distribution of wealth, much of our work concentrates on the circumstances surrounding trade and investment negotiations and implementation.
