In announcing her appointment, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated, "Ms. Figueres is an international leader on strategies to address global climate change and brings to this position a passion for the issue, deep knowledge of the stakeholders and valuable hands-on experience with the public sector, non-profit sector and private sector. Ms. Figueres leadership at the helm of the UNFCCC comes at a crucial time in global efforts to take effective action on climate change."

Ms. Figueres has been a member of the Costa Rican negotiating team since 1995. She represented Latin America and the Caribbean on the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism in 2007, and was then elected Vice President of the Conference of the Parties (to UNFCCC) 2008-2009. She has served as Director of International Cooperation in the Ministry of Planning in Costa Rica, and as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Agriculture. She was also the Director of Renewable Energy in the Americas (REIA) and is founder of the Center for Sustainable Development of the Americas (CSDA).