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Monday, June 15, 2020towards decarbonization By the A.M. Costa Rica staff More than a dozen cantons prepare toward a more decarbonized way of life by help of already successful international programs. The Carbon Neutral Country Program seeks for municipalities to prepare the Inventory of Greenhouse Gases that are generated in their territory and, in the exercise of their powers, propose and implement measures to reduce them, then offset or remove the remaining emissions. "The Carbon Neutrality Country Program is one of the best mechanisms for integrating citizens into decarbonization," said Andrea Meza, director of the Ministry's Climate Change Program. "The Cantonal Category allows each Costa Rican to see in their own community the benefits of decarbonization: more efficient and walkable neighborhoods, better waste management and the strengthening of good agricultural production practices." The re-design and construction of road infrastructure suitable for pedestrians and cyclists; the establishment of organic waste management models and the training of farm owners to implement good production practices are some of the actions proposed by the municipalities in their progress towards decarbonization, announced the Costa Rica-United States of America Foundation for Cooperation, CRUSA. According to CRUSA, the municipalities of Osa, Pérez Zeledón, Santa Cruz, Cañas, Nicoya, Oreamuno, Cartago, San Ramón, Goicoechea, Montes de Oca, Parrita, Quepos, San Carlos and Pococí are developing their “Cantonal Action Plans for mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.” These 14 municipalities carried out the Greenhouse Gas Inventory, corresponding to 2018, and identified mitigation measures within the framework of the Country Carbon Neutrality 2.0 Program (PPCN 2.0) in its Cantonal Category of the Climate Change of the Ministry of Environment. For this, they had the support of CRUSA, the German Development Cooperation, GIZ on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Nuclear Safety of Germany and the Partnership for Market Readiness project of the World Bank. The results of the inventories accounted for 2018, a total of 4- 400 326.85 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (t CO2e) and identified that the two main sectors responsible for emissions in the 14 municipalities correspond to the transport sector (42%), which ranks first in most cases, and the agriculture, forestry and other land uses sector (23%), given the importance of agricultural and livestock activities in several of the cantons, CRUSA said in its statement. "For the CRUSA Foundation, the presentation of the results of the work carried out for the first time in these 14 municipalities is a source of great satisfaction," said Flora Montealegre, representative of CRUSA. "These local governments have inventories of greenhouse gases at the cantonal level that will allow them to make better decisions and implement mitigation actions for the benefit of the environment and their communities. These inventories represent a milestone and we hope that local governments continue to improve and deepen the actions of their environmental management.” According to CRUSA, each canton established a climate action plan detailing the actions to be carried out in the coming years to reduce the generation of emissions. These actions seek to reduce some 14,500.21 t CO2eq, further contributing to the alignment and contribution to the National Decarbonization Plan. Actions focus on comprehensive waste management, mobility and sustainable public transport, low-emission private transport, low-emission agricultural systems and nature-based solutions. To continue on the path to the decarbonization of the economy after the completion of the pilot project, each municipality has the responsibility to continue with the management processes of its greenhouse gas inventory and implement the proposed mitigation actions. The fourteen municipalities join six others - La Unión, Monteverde, Golfito, Belén, San José and Desamparados - which participated in a pilot project during 2018 and were the first to raise their cantonal GHG inventories and prioritize mitigation measures. Together with Puntarenas, these six were awarded the "Carbon Inventory" seal of the Cantonal Category PPCN within the framework of PreCOP25 last October 2019 and are currently in the phase of implementing concrete actions. -------------------------- What have you heard of decarbonization projects carried out by the municipality in your community? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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