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Climate change chief dossier: Christiana Figueres

UN climate change chief Christiana Figueres is a long distance runner and constant traveler who calls wherever she is "home." Here is a thumbnail profile.

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Osama Faisal/AP
United Nations Convention on Climate Change Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres addresses the opening of the high-level segment of the annual UN climate talks involving environment ministers and climate officials from nearly 200 countries, in Doha, Qatar, Tuesday, Dec. 4, 2012.
  • By Staff

UN climate change chief Christiana Figueres is profiled in the Sept. 22, 2014 Christian Science MonitorWeekly magazine. Here are some distilled data points on the Costa Rican diplomat charged with guiding international agreements to halt global warming.

Education: Swarthmore, BS in anthropology; London School of Economics and Political Science, MS in anthropology

Languages: Spanish, English, German 

Last books read: “My Samoan Chief,” by Fay G. Calkins; “Love Letter to the Earth,” by Thich Nhat Hanh

Average time on the road per month: 2 weeks

Where she considers home: “Wherever I am” (usually a hotel)

Personal car: Toyota Prius

Official car: Toyota Prius

Home utilities: 100 percent renewable energy (in a Bonn apartment building)

Green habit: recycles trash at home into four containers 

Bike: Scott Sportster (hybrid city/mountain)

Last race run: Bonn (Germany) half marathon (2013), in 2 hours 38 minutes

Favorite food: Thai (preferably in Bangkok, and always vegetarian)

Most exotic food eaten in her travels: worms (in Cameroon), snake and caterpillars (in Costa Rica)

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