The competition for the post of new UN climate chief is hotting up with Costa Rica joining the race to oppose Indian nominee Environment Secretary Vijai Sharma.
Christiana Figueres, the Costa Rica's lead climate negotiator since 1995, was named as the country's candidate for the post of Executive Secretary for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to replace Yvo de Boer, who announced his resignation in February.
"I am deeply honoured by Costa Rica's nomination but as you can imagine, I am deeply humbled by the potential task at hand," Figueres told journalists here in her first press conference after being nominated by President Oscar Aria.
India's Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has already written to UN Chief Ban Ki-moon nominating Vijai Sharma for the position.
Ramesh has asserted that India's pick is backed by China and Brazil, while South Africa has put forward its former environment minister Marthinus Van Schalkwyk for the post.
Ban has invited nominations from member states. A preliminary selection will be made by a panel of experts selected by Ban, which will invite some candidate for the interview. The head of the UN will select the person for the job by July when de Boer leaves.
Another Costa Rican, Rebecca Grynspan is presently number two at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Responding to whether the small nation could have two people in top spots, Figueres said, "Yes, it may be a stretch to think that Costa Rica a country of four million would have another position at the UN but frankly, it is the Secretary General's call and I trust the secretary general to make a decision based on the competence of the people."
Laying out her views on the state of current climate talks and future plans, Figueres underlined that Copenhagen climate change talks in December were plagued by a lack of "trust" that was detracting from the efficacy of the negotiations.
"All of us who have been in this process agree that we didn't like the Copenhagen process. It was not inclusive. It was not transparent. It was not effective," Figueres said. "But above all, it eroded trust."
"The trust that was eroded in Copenhagen, however, is only the tip of the iceberg of the trust problem that we have in the climate convention," she said, highlighting the trust deficit in all arenas including the science (IPCC controversy), the talks between North and South and within the industrialised countries as well as the G77 and China.
Figueres used the words of Neil Armstrong to describe the Copenhagen Accord reached in December. "I think of the Accord as a big step for the community of nations but a very small step for the planet," she said, noting that Accord represented some progress but it was an inadequate response to the crisis.
The next round of negotiations to produce a legally binding treaty will take place in Cancun, Mexico at the end of the year.
