Earlier today, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon made the following comment in a press release ahead of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) that will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June:

“Sustainable development is an idea whose time has come. It is the future we want.”

At the Rio+20 summit, world leaders will be paying close attention to what Costa Rica is doing in terms of sustainable development, and two key representatives of our country at this significant conference will be former President Jose Maria Figueres Olsen and his sister Christiana Figueres.

Former President Figueres was profiled by British news daily the Guardian last month, weeks after he was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Carbon War Room, an entity founded by Sir Richard Branson -the founder of the Virgin business empire. The Guardian article drew a parallel between the late former President Jose Figueres Ferrer, a key figure of the Costa Rican Civil War and the abolishment of the military, and how his son Jose Maria and daughter Christiana are currently leading a green revolution.

Karen Christiana Figueres leads the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and in the past she has been involved in private enterprises dedicated to the profitable advancement of sustainability.

In his interview with the Guardian, the former President explained that his father’s life doctrine was what influenced him and his sister to become interested in environmental protection and sustainable development:

“Father taught us the values of no wastage and austerity and of a life in harmony with the natural habitat.”

Sir Richard Branson enjoys a close relationship with the Figueres family and has expressed his admiration for Costa Rica on his personal blog. In early January, The Costa Rica Star reported on the meeting that Sir Richard Branson’s daughter Holly and her husband had with former President Figueres in San Jose.

The former President and his sister have also contributed to the United Nations Environment Program’s (UNEP) Climate Neutral Network international initiative of which Costa Rica is a member nation. The UNEP describes the Costa Rica Carbon Neutrality Strategy by the year 2021 as:

“[…] a balanced zero or negative national inventory of emissions by sources and absorption by sinks of all anthropogenic activities of the different sectors considered by the IPCC Guidelines on Inventories of Greenhouse Gases. This strategy seeks to have zero impact on the climate.”

For the reasons stated above, Costa Rica and the Figueres siblings will play a major role in the crucial Rio+20 summit.