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On May 16, 2018, laureate Christiana Figueres accepted the International Four Freedoms Awards. As former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), she worked for years to ensure the success of the negotiations around the Paris Climate Agreement (2015). In doing so, Figueres paid particular attention to transparency and cooperation.
The agreement was concluded thanks, for example, to its ability to engage people in the process. In 2016, a large majority of countries signed the climate agreement. In doing so, these countries signalled their commitment to work on reducing temperature rise and the major impacts of climate change. Changing our climate is and will remain a major and important challenge. For future generations and the future of our planet.
Figueres wrote an open letter of thanks in December 2015: “... to all who have worked on this for so long, I say: this is your success! Individually for each of you, but more powerfully, collectively for all of us. (...) We have come together to face the most terrifying challenge. We did this by respecting our differences and putting aside our hostility. By focusing on the present we share and the future we must build together ... “
The Roosevelt Foundation agrees. It therefore awards the 2018 International Four Freedoms Award to all those who have shown great commitment to this cause.
Get in touch with Figueres.
De overeenkomst is gesloten dankzij bijvoorbeeld haar vermogen om mensen te betrekken bij het proces. In 2016 ondertekende een grote meerderheid van landen de klimaatovereenkomst. Deze landen geven hiermee aan te willen werken aan het verminderen van de temperatuurstijging en de grote gevolgen van klimaatverandering. De verandering van ons klimaat is en blijft een grote en belangrijke uitdaging. Voor toekomstige generaties en de toekomst van onze planeet.
Figueres schreef in december 2015 een open bedankbrief: "... aan allen, die hier zo lang aan hebben gewerkt, zeg ik: dit is jouw succes! Individueel voor ieder van jullie, maar krachtiger, collectief voor ons allemaal. (...) We zijn samengekomen om de meest angstaanjagende uitdaging aan te gaan. We hebben dit gedaan door onze verschillen te respecteren en onze vijandigheid opzij te zetten. Door ons te concentreren op het heden dat we delen en de toekomst die we samen moeten bouwen ... "
De Roosevelt Foundation is het hiermee eens. Daarom kent zij de International Four Freedoms Award 2018 toe aan alle betrokkenen die zich veel hebben ingezet voor dit doel.
More about Figueres
Christiana Figueres Olsen was born on August 7, 1956, in Costa Rica. As a diplomat, she led political negotiations at the national level, as well as between countries and international organisations. Figueres worked in the areas of climate change, sustainable development, energy, land use, and technical and financial cooperation. She currently lives in Washington DC.
Functies en artikelen
Figueres was appointed director of International Cooperation at the Ministry of Planning in Costa Rica in 1987. In 1995, she founded the Centre for Sustainable Development in the Americas, becoming its executive director. The Centre is a non-profit organisation dedicated to encouraging Latin American countries to join the Climate Convention. From 1995 to 2010, Figueres spoke on behalf of the government of Costa Rica. She also negotiated for the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. Currently, Figueres chairs the advisory board of The Lancet Countdown: Tracking Progress on Health and Climate Change. She is also a founding member of the Global Optimism group.
Figueres co-wrote the book The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis (Manila Press, 2020) with Tom Rivett-Carnac.
Other laureates from 2018
Erol Önderoğlu
Get in touch with Önderoğlu
Paride Taban
Get in touch with Taban.
Virunga Alliance - Emmanuel de Merode
Get in touch with De Merode
