By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

International representatives who want to take action on the climate will meet today through Thursday at the National Convention Center* in the province of Heredia. The session is called PreCOP25 because it is a precursor for 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference

The U. N. Climate Change Conference will be held in Chile in December.

“The PreCOP25 is the last meeting prior to the COP where the processes of negotiations and political agreements are defined,” said Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, minister of Environment and Energy.

According to the government report, the participation of 1,500 people is expected. Of these, about 800 are residents interested in the subject, said the ministry.

"Among the people who will attend the event, there are representatives of international organizations, local governments, communities, the private sector, and Costa Ricans interested in climate action who will learn and share experiences," said the ministry in its statement.

In the activity, there will be forums, talks, conferences, round tables, political dialogues and panels.

According to Rodríguez, there are two important issues on which countries have agreed: the need to abandon the actions that cause a climate crisis and the urgency of adapting to the damage that climate change already caused.

According to the ministry, the search for solutions to accelerate decarbonization and resilience will revolve in three thematic areas: cities-sustainable mobility, nature-based solutions, and the so-called blue economy.

To this are added two themes: On the one hand gender and human rights and on the other the financing and mobilization of financial resources to achieve the desired transformations, said the ministry.

“At this moment we must concentrate on commitments to implement actions, and that is when Costa Rica proposes an unconventional PreCOP, to concentrate on sharing experiences on how countries are going to implement actions that will reverse the impacts of climate change,” said Rodriguez.

With the 2015 Paris agreement, countries promised to reduce emissions and submit a long-term proposal.  “Today, only seven countries have it, and Costa Rica was the first country in the world,” said Rodríguez of President Carlos Alvarado's decarbonization plan.

Related to the president's descarbonization plan, as A.M. Costa Rica reported on Sept. 30rd,  In a ceremony held on the United Nations General Assembly, the country received the 2019 Champions of the Earth award, in the category of “Political Leadership”.


“On behalf of the people of Costa Rica, I want to thank you for this recognition that is consistent with our legacy. It is what the generation of my parents and grandparents created for Costa Rica,” said President Alvarado, upon receiving the award.

According to President Alvarado, "Costa Rica is as an example to the world. It is an experiment that is friendly to the environment. By working with renewable energy to generate employment and growth it is not antagonistic, to the contrary, it is possible, and Costa Rica is proof of that."

The Champions of the Earth award is the maximum environmental award of the United Nations. It recognizes pioneers who are working to protect the planet, from political leaders to environmental defenders or technological innovators.

According to the Government, Costa Rica is among the five Earth Champions this year among which are the Fridays for Future student movement, the Ant Forest platform, the Canadian climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, and the American clothing brand Patagonia.

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