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Costa Rican to become new UN climate chief

Cross-posted from Quirin Schiermeier on The Great Beyond

Christiana Figueres, a Costa Rican climate diplomacy expert, is to become the new head of the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention of Climate Change. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is expected to confirm her appointment later in the week, the BBC reports.

Figueres, daughter of former Costa Rican president Jose Figueres Ferrer, has been involved in the international climate negotiation process since 1995. The UN’s outgoing climate chief, Yvo de Boer of the Netherlands, announced in February to step down on July 1 after nearly four years in office.

The run-off has been between Figueres and the South African tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk, who had the support of several key countries and was widely considered front-runner to replace de Boer. But in the last few days a number of small island states have successfully lobbied in favour of Figueres, according to BBC.

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