Research, ideas, and leadership for a more secure, peaceful world
Rene Castro-Salazar, former Minister of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica discusses chances and challenges for developing countries at COP21 and beyond.
Rene Castro-Salazar is the former Minister of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications of Costa Rica and a 2015 Fellow at the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government.
Mr. Castro was appointed by President Laura Chinchilla Minister for Environment, Energy and Telecommunications in August 2011. Mr. Castro was also former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship in 2010. He has extensive experience in public service positions: from 1994 to 1998 Minister of Environment and Energy, from 1982 to 1986 Vice Minister of the Interior. He was also President of the Municipal Council of the City of San Jose.
He has been an Associate Professor at INCAE, a leading schools of Business Administration in Latin America. He has also been a lecturer at Harvard University and other universities. He is the author of a number of books and articles on environmental and infrastructure issues.
Mr. Castro managed the electoral campaign for President Chinchilla. He worked for the United Nations, the World Bank, the Inter American Development Bank and other development institutions as an international consultant in Latin America and Europe. He pioneered schemes of “Payment for environmental services” in Costa Rica, performed the first CO2 transaction in the world and led debt-for-nature swap negotiations between various countries. Minister Castro has extensive professional and academic experience all over the world.
He earned a Doctoral Degree at Harvard University, where he also received his Masters Degree. His post-graduate studies concentrated on environment economics and natural resources. He holds a Civil Engineering degree from the University of Costa Rica.