“All of the (straw) polls at the Security Council indicate that my candidacy does not have much future,” Figueres said at a press conference alongside Foreign Minister Manuel Gonzalez.
Gonzalez added: “You have to read the signs.”
Figueres expressed hope that the United Nations would choose a woman to replace Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who has been in office since 2007 and whose second term ends December 31.
Gonzalez said that Costa Rica has pressed for a woman to lead the world body, even before tapping Figueres, and will continue to work toward that goal.
The world body has never had a female leader in its 70 years.
Figueres, who threw her hat in the ring in July, headed the negotiations that led to the historic 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
