For over 25 years, Monica Araya has worked with leaders in government, business, philanthropy, and advocacy on accelerating climate action with a focus on Latin America, Europe and the U.S.
She has worked as a strategist of several initiatives, boards, and international campaigns. She helped develop Costa Rica’s national decarbonization plan, was a Special Adviser to the High-Level Champion for Climate Action at COP26 and has been a Distinguished Fellow at ClimateWorks Foundation.
Most recently, Monica Araya was the Executive Director of the European Climate Foundation’s (ECF) international programs and a member of the organization’s Executive Management Team. She oversaw work and grant-making on trade, diplomacy, decarbonization plans, and global climate politics in that capacity.
She is currently a senior adviser to various initiatives. She is Director of the Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI)’s Governing Board, a part of Advisory Board at the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. She is one of the founding members of Drive Electric’s Steering Committee composed of key strategic philanthropies.
Previously, Monica Araya worked at the Ministry of Foreign Trade in Costa Rica, Climate Change Capital, the UN negotiations and E3G. In Costa Rica she co-founded Costa Rica Limpia, a citizen group, which successfully advocated for a national fossil-free plan 2018-2050.
As a media commentator on energy and climate policy in Latin America, her ideas have been featured in local, regional, and international outlets such as TIME magazine, Financial Times, National Geographic, El País, Repubblica, and The Guardian.
She is also the co-creator of the podcast “Ponerse las pilas”, a pioneering Spanish-language podcast that addresses issues related to climate change, the green economy, and science diplomacy.
For her work in electrification, she was included in the BBC’s “100 Women” list. Her TED talks on climate solutions have garnered over five million views. In 2019, she was named “Crusader of the Year” for her role in advancing electric mobility in Costa Rica. BMW and TED selected her as a mentor for “Next Visionaries“, an initiative that explored the future of mobility. In 2014, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs recognized her as a “Personality of the Future“.
She obtained at Masters in Economic Policy at the National University in Costa Rica and Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Environmental Management from Yale University.
