The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis

by Christiana Figueres

consonance with one another in mutually reinforcing systems. In Costa Rica, President José Figueres Ferrer, Christiana’s father, made the decision in 1948 to abolish the army. He invested in education and expanded forest cover from a low of less than 20 per cent. Now Costa Rica has one of the highest literacy rates in Latin America,71 forest cover is more than 50 per cent,72 and the nation’s electricity is provided almost exclusively by renewable energy. Costa Rica measures its progress both by GDP and by indicators that help the government make decisions that maximise well-being. On the Happy Planet Index, Costa Rica ranked number one as the happiest place on Earth in 2009, 2012 and 2018.73 Action 8 Use Technology Responsibly Evolving new technologies have enormous potential for delivering emissions reductions.