-Published: Tuesday, December 31, 2019-





By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

President Carlos Alvarado presented some of the actions he and the government made this year as part of his Descarbonization Plan 2050.

As part of his participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos last January, the president assumed the commitment to lead by example in the fight against a climate crisis.

In February, Alvarado signed the new moratorium on oil exploitation that runs until 2050 and presented his National Decarbonization Plan 2050.

In September, President Alvarado received the Champions of the Earth award from the United Nations for his role in the protection of nature and his commitment to combat climate change.

In addition, the country hosted the PreCOP25 in anticipation of the COP25 meeting that took place this month in Spain. In the PreCOP, the president referred to the commitment to protect 30% of the planet's territory by 2030.

According to Alvarado, and based on a study by the Inter-American Development Bank and the University of Costa Rica, the country will obtain a net profit of $19.5 billion by making the changes indicated in the Decarbonization Plan.

"Decarbonization is the great task of our generation, and Costa Rica must be one of the first countries to achieve it, if not the first," said Alvarado.

According to Alvarado, currently more than 98% of Costa Rica's energy is produced from renewable sources, and forest cover reaches more than 53% of the territory.

"The country's main challenge is to connect the transport system with the clean energy matrix," said the government in its statement.

The government listed some of the most important changes made in public institutions:

- The Electric Institute bought 100 electric vehicles and installed semi-fast chargers in its buildings throughout the country.

- The Road Safety Council bought 10 electric motorcycles.

- Public Mail Services bought 45 electric motorcycles.

- In February, Alvarado presented the National Electric Transportation Plan.

- In April the president presented the National Fast Charge Network for electric vehicles throughout the country.

- Alvarado declared public interest to the Limón Province Electric Freight Train Project.

- In addition, the ministries of Public Works and Transportation, Environment and Energy signed an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions caused by transportation.

According to Alvarado, public banks improved credit so that people can buy their electric vehicles and for public transport operators to find more favorable conditions.

In addition, the Costa Rican Electricity Institute and the Public Services Regulatory Authority announced actions to facilitate the entry into operation of electric buses.

In July, the Electricity Institute inaugurated the Las Pailas II Geothermal Plant, "the most modern of its kind in Central America and the Caribbean," the government said in its statement.

The Rural Electrification Cooperative of Guanacaste also inaugurated the Cacao Wind Farm with the goal of generating electricity to 20,000 homes in the area.

In addition, Alvarado signed a reform of the Law for Integral Waste Management in order to prohibit the importation into the national territory, the commercialization and delivery of Styrofoam containers or containers.

Also, in November the president announced the start of the process to build the first plant in the country to develop building blocks from plastic waste.

In February, first lady Claudia Dobles presented the execution plan of the $2.8 million donated by the Climate Green Climate Fund to face the effects of climate change throughout the national territory.


------------------------------
What other action should the government take to achieve the decarbonization plan of the country?  We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com