Christiana Figueres: The inside story of the Paris climate agreement
Christiana Figueres: La historia desde dentro del acuerdo climático de París
Christiana Figueres is the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), who led the recent COP 21 climate talks in Paris. Full bio
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but here is the fact.
pero aquí está el hecho.
you know how difficult that is --
sabrán lo difícil que es eso--
of the global economy
el curso de la economía global
a los más vulnerables
just a few years ago.
estado hacía solo unos pocos años.
toward a climate agreement,
hacia un acuerdo sobre el clima,
convened in Copenhagen
se reunieron en Copenhague
of the deeply entrenched divide
a la brecha profundamente arraigada
North and the global South.
el Hemisferio Sur.
de ese fracaso,
to assume the responsibility
sobre cambio climático.
to start this new job.
para empezar este nuevo trabajo.
was in the trash can.
climático estaba por los suelos.
could ever be possible.
pudiera ser posible alguna vez.
outside of this wonderful TED audience,
fuera de este público maravilloso de TED,
buried by history.
enterrado por la historia.
"Sra. Figueres,
is ever going to be possible?"
será posible alguna vez?".
I heard me utter,
oí mi rotundo,
the faces of my press team
de mi equipo de prensa
at this crazy Costa Rican woman
por esta mujer loca de Costa Rica
because I'm kind of used to myself.
estoy acostumbrada a mí misma.
of what I had just said,
de lo que acababa de decir,
are going to have to live.
van a tener que vivir.
francamente horrible para mí,
that I was going to change my attitude
que iba a cambiar mi actitud
change its attitude on climate change.
su actitud sobre el cambio climático.
your job is to save the planet.
consiste en salvar el planeta.
ninguna autoridad,
in every decision that they take.
en todas las decisiones que toman.
on the first Monday morning,
entré en pánico.
how we're going to solve this problem.
de cómo resolver este problema.
how we're going to solve this problem,
de cómo resolver este problema,
the tone of this conversation.
el tono de la conversación.
you can deliver victory
de que se pueda lograr la victoria
como una palabra muy simple,
in its broader sense.
en su sentido más amplio.
that we humans can come together
los humanos pueden unirse
to better the fate of mankind.
para mejorar el destino de la humanidad.
that I thought that without that,
que pensé que, sin eso,
to get out of the paralysis of Copenhagen.
de la parálisis de Copenhague.
injected optimism into the system,
inyecté optimismo en el sistema,
from the press --
to the contrary.
a lot of contrary evidence.
de evidencia en contra.
happening in many areas,
que ocurrían en muchas áreas,
will not be surprised
que las tecnologías limpias,
energy technologies,
las tecnologías de energías renovables,
and increase in capacity,
y aumentar capacidad,
we are already building
ya estamos construyendo
to power entire cities,
para alimentar ciudades enteras,
of what we are doing on mobility
estamos haciendo en movilidad
in the economic equation,
en la ecuación económica,
huge costs to climate change,
por el cambio climático,
of the clean technologies
de las tecnologías limpias
more livable cities,
ciudades más habitables,
to the developing world.
para el mundo en desarrollo.
than what we have now.
que el que tenemos ahora.
de hecho, parte de Uds. lo fueron,
in fact, part of you were,
first through nonnational governments,
de gobiernos no nacionales,
insurance companies,
de la industria, las compañías de seguros,
faith communities,
comunidades religiosas,
this actually can be in their interest.
en realidad, esto podía ser de su interés.
improve their bottom line.
su cuenta de resultados.
los sospechosos de siempre.
of a major, major oil and gas company
gran, gran empresa de petróleo y gas
he was going to change his company,
a cambiar su compañía,
in long-term viability.
en la viabilidad a largo plazo.
in the economic equation,
en la ecuación económica,
support from everyone,
de todo el mundo,
before we saw that national governments
viéramos que los gobiernos nacionales
that this is in their national interest.
se trataba de su interés nacional.
to begin to identify
que comenzaran a identificar
to global efforts
a los esfuerzos mundiales
comprehensive climate change plans,
sobre el cambio climático,
sustainable development plans.
de desarrollo sostenible.
the core interests of nations,
fundamentales de las naciones,
that nations were ready
que las naciones estaban listas
hacia un camino común,
probably several decades,
varias décadas,
is going to take us
nos va a llevar
highly resilient economy,
una economía muy resiliente.
that are currently on the table
están actualmente sobre la mesa
to a stabilized climate,
a un clima estabilizado,
and verification of all of those efforts
y verificación de todos esos esfuerzos
going to have every five years
que vamos a tener cada cinco años
towards our goal are legally binding,
nuestra meta son legalmente vinculantes,
a decarbonized and more resilient economy
y hacia una economía más resiliente
unos muy reducidos
a corto plazo,
largely perceived as a burden.
percibidos como una carga.
contributing with different intensities
contribuyendo con diferente intensidad
in different sectors,
en diferentes sectores,
contributing to a common goal
a un objetivo común
todo esto en su lugar
were able to go to Paris
fueron capaces de ir a París
se adoptó el acuerdo de París.
the euphoria in the room.
la euforia en el ambiente.
gritando, chillando,
at what they had just seen,
incredulidad ante lo que acababan de ver,
and this was finally their reality.
dirección, y fue finalmente su realidad.
who had participated directly.
habían participado directamente.
estaba con un colega
to give to his wonderful wife Natasha.
a su maravillosa esposa Natasha.
what he was going to buy,
la que iba a comprar,
that you're buying this now,
de comprar esto ahora,
very soon because of climate change."
muy pronto a causa del cambio climático".
have just come to a decision,
acaban de llegar a una decisión,
that we have a lot of work still to do.
tenemos mucho trabajo por hacer.
our work on climate change.
nuestro trabajo sobre cambio climático.
that we redouble our efforts
redoblemos nuestros esfuerzos
that are the urgent five years.
que son los urgentes cinco años.
By injecting transformational optimism
inyección del optimismo transformacional
from confrontation to collaboration,
de la confrontación a la colaboración,
that national and local interests
que los intereses nacionales y locales
with global needs,
con las necesidades globales,
we can bring them together
podemos unirlos
to other global issues
a otros temas globales
our attention this century --
atención este siglo,
home security, forced migration --
en el hogar, la migración forzada,
those problems yet.
out of what we have done on climate change
que hemos hecho sobre el cambio climático
the zero-sum mentality.
la mentalidad de suma cero.
that there always are winners and losers,
que siempre hay ganadores y perdedores,
planetary boundaries
los límites del planeta
just so interconnected,
interdependent on each other,
interdependientes unos de otros,
between zero benefit for all
entre el beneficio cero para todos
como la suma de todos nosotros.
Podemos hacerlo de nuevo.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Christiana Figueres - Climate advocateChristiana Figueres is the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), who led the recent COP 21 climate talks in Paris.
Why you should listen
Christiana Figueres has been the executive secretary of the UNFCCC since July 2010. She has directed five consecutive successful Conferences of the Parties, and is now charged with the intergovernmental process to deliver the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change.
Figueres has a long trajectory in the field of global climate change, having been a member of the Costa Rican negotiating team 1995- 2009, and having played a number of key roles in the governance of the UNFCCC before formally joining the secretariat. She initiated her life of public service as Minister Counselor at the Embassy of Costa Rica in Bonn, Germany in 1982. Moving to the USA, she was Director of Renewable Energy in the Americas (REIA) and in 1995 founded the nonprofit Center for Sustainable Development of the Americas (CSDA) which she directed for eight years. She designed and helped to establish national climate change programs throughout Latin America and served as high level advisor to both governments and private companies. In 2001 she received the Hero for the Planet Award from National Geographic.
Christiana Figueres | Speaker | TED.com