Online digital newspaper La Fragua reports that former President Jose Maria Figueres has been named the Chief Executive Officer of the Carbon War Room, an entity founded by Sir Richard Branson, the founder of the Virgin business empire.

According to the website of Virgin Unite, a corporate social responsibility foundation, the Carbon War Room was created by Sir Richard Branson and a group of powerful businessmen from around the world, including the founder of SunEdison Jigar Shah. SunEdison is a private enterprise with headquarters in Maryland that provides solar-generated energy to commercial, government, and utility customers.

Former President Figueres has been with the Carbon War Room since the beginning, but the announcement of his ascension to CEO was made yesterday. The official press release includes the following comments from Figueres:

“My experience in Costa Rica taught me a great lesson: It may be government that sets the targets and mandates on carbon [emissions], but only entrepreneurs, business and the carbon market can bring about these reductions. The Carbon War Room has made amazing strides in the past three years in shipping, energy efficiency and more. I look forward to stepping into the executive role […]”

The Virgin Unite non-profit further explains that “The goal for all of us is to build a sustainable future. As former Costa Rican President Jose Maria Figueres says… ‘There is no Planet B’.”

In the past, Figueres was the target of an investigation by our National Assembly that looked into improper payments and political influence in the Alcatel-ICE affair. He was never charged in the investigation, and after living in Europe for a few years, he returned to Costa Rica and cleared himself of the allegations against him in a hearing before legislators who summoned his presence.

The Costa Rica Star has previously written about the relationship between the Branson and Figueres families, and it profiled the Figueres family as one of the most powerful in Costa Rica.