21 Sept. Monica Araya Keynote - COP26 & the Race to Zero emissions cities

Monica joined the Climate Champions team to lead the transport campaigns seeking to accelerate the uptake of zero-emissions mobility--working alongside the High-Level Climate Action Champion for COP26. She has lived and worked in Latin America, Europe and the US, engaging leaders in government, business, philanthropies to advocate and guide decarbonization strategies. This means creating and supporting coalitions of diverse stakeholders guided by a shared vision.

Her experience includes working with early adopters of electric mobility as well as climate activists, utilities, car dealers, automakers, charging infrastructure providers, and lawmakers. She is a member of several steering committees, including the 2050 Pathways Platform. In 2019, she was named ‘Crusader of the Year’ for her role advancing electric mobility in Costa Rica. BMW and TED appointed her as mentor to “Next Visionaries,” an initiative exploring the future of mobility. She frequently gives talks on decarbonization leadership, such as her global TED talk which has over 1.3 million views. Monica holds a Master's degree in Economics from Costa Rica’s National University and a Ph.D. in Environmental Management from Yale University.

She was selected to the first all-female expedition to Antarctica, where she reaffirmed her commitment to advance climate solutions. She currently lives in Amsterdam.