¿En qué consiste el Plan Nacional de Descarbonización de Costa Rica?

Costa Rica ha logrado

avances ambientales importantes en décadas previas, incluyendo una red eléctrica en más de
un 95% libre de emisiones y muy bajas tasas de deforestación con una cobertura boscosa que
supera el 52% del territorio. Para hacerlo,  realizará cambios y modificaciones significativas en
su oferta de movilidad y transporte (público y privado), en la gestión de sus formas de energía,
en la construcción sostenible y la industria instalada en el país, así como en la gestión de los
residuos de sus ciudadanos y empresas.  También se incluyen pautas para mejorar las prácticas
agrícolas y el uso del suelo, evitando la deforestación. El Plan ofrece una Hoja de Ruta para
impulsar la modernización de la economía costarricense, generar empleos y dinamizar su
crecimiento a partir de un modelo basado en la generación de bienes servicios 3D:
descarbonizados, digitalizados y descentralizados en la producción eléctrica. Además, el Plan
será utilizado como la base para la construcción de tres iniciativas más: el Plan Nacional de
Desarrollo e Inversiones Públicas (2018-2022) y el Plan Estratégico Costa Rica 2050 (Estrategia
de Largo Plazo). Todas estas medidas, acciones y mejoras adoptadas en el país son parte de las
llamadas Contribuciones Nacionalmente Determinadas (NDCs) que Costa Rica presentará en el
2020 ante la Convención Marco de Naciones Unidas sobre Cambio Climático (CMNUCC)  para
evidenciar su compromiso por reducir las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero y participar
del esfuerzo global porque la temperatura global no ascienda por encima de los 2 grados
centígrados con respecto a la época preindustrial. 

Metas concretas La estrategia tiene 10 ejes con metas muy concretas:

1 – Desarrollar un sistema de transporte público (buses, taxis y TRP) y movilidad compartida

seguro, alimentado por energías limpias (sin emisiones) y tan eficiente que haga menos
atractivo el uso de automóvil particular para desplazarse. Se aspira a un incremento de al
menos un 10% de las movilizaciones no motorizadas.

 2035: 70% de los buses y taxis serán cero emisiones, TRP operará 100% eléctrico
 2050: sistema de transporte sustituirá a vehículos privados como principal opción de
movilidad
 2050: 100% de buses y taxis serán cero emisiones.

2 – Transformar progresivamente la flota vehicular del país de carros ligeros de combustión

fósil a vehículos cero emisiones y promover modelos de negocios de autos compartidos
autónomos. El país implementará una extensa red de recarga eléctrica a lo largo del país y con
infraestructura complementaria para tecnologías cero emisiones, por ejemplo, estaciones de
hidrógeno.

 2025:  Se estabilizará el crecimiento de las compras de motocicletas y se adoptarán

estándares para favorecer las ventas de motos cero emisiones
 2035: 25% de la flota vehicular será eléctrica
 2050: 100% de las ventas de vehículos ligeros nuevos será de vehículos cero emisiones y
el 60% de la flota de vehículos ligeros -privados y públicos- será cero emisiones.
3 – Reducir el impacto ambiental del transporte de carga en el país favoreciendo la adopción
de tecnologías de eficiencia energética y de vehículos bajos en emisiones de carbono. 

 2022: País tendrá inventario público sobre las emisiones de la flota de vehículos de

carga. Se pondrán en marcha planes piloto para aumentar la eficiencia de los camiones
mejorando logística del transporte.
 2050: Al menos el 50% del transporte de carga será altamente eficiente y habrá
reducido emisiones en un 20% con respecto a emisiones del 2018.

4 – Consolidar un sistema eléctrico nacional capaz de abastecer y gestionar energía renovable a

un costo competitivo para los usuarios. Mejorar la gestión eficiente de los clientes y territorios
mediante la digitalización de los procesos institucionales y comerciales.

 2030: La matriz eléctrica del país deberá operar al 100% con energías renovables
 2050:  La energía eléctrica será fuente de energía primaria para el sector transporte,
residencial y comercial, industrial.

5 – Desarrollar edificaciones de uso comercial, residencial e institucional bajo estándares de

alta eficiencia y bajas emisiones.

 2030: 100% de las nuevas edificaciones comerciales, residenciales e institucionales se

diseñarán y construirán adoptando sistemas de resiliencia y tecnologías bajas emisiones.
 2050: 100% de las edificaciones comerciales, residenciales, e institucionales operarán
con estándares de bajas emisiones implementando además el uso de energías renovables
en procesos de cocción y agua caliente.

6 – Modernizar el sector industrial a través de la aplicación de procesos eléctricos, sostenibles y

más eficientes.

 2030:  Se contará con una estrategia y modelos de negocio de diseño integral que
consideren las acciones necesarias para atenuar y responsabilizarse del impacto de un
producto desde su nacimiento, distribución y posterior descarte:  lo que se llama “cuna a
tumba” (o “cradle-to-grave”).
 2050: El sector industrial se apoyará más en fuentes de energía bajas en emisiones.

7 – Desarrollar un sistema de gestión integrada de residuos basado en la separación,

reutilización, revalorización y disposición final de máxima eficiencia y bajas emisiones.

 2022:  Se contará con Estrategia y Plan Nacional de Mejores Opciones Tecnológicas para
reducir las emisiones de metano por residuos orgánicos.
 2030: Costa Rica tendrá una cultura ciudadana y empresarial orientada a una menor
generación, de residuos y a un exitoso manejo de los mismos.
 2050: 100% del territorio contará con soluciones para la recolección, separación,
reutilización y disposición de residuos.
8 – Apoyar la adopción de tecnología alimentaria eficiente y baja en carbono que genere bienes
de exportación y también para el consumo local.

 2050: Al menos el 50% del transporte de carga será altamente eficiente y habrá
reducido emisiones en un 20% con respecto a emisiones del 2018.

9 – Consolidar modelos ganaderos basados en la eficiencia productiva y disminución de gases

de efecto invernadero.

 2050: Productores nacionales habrán adoptado la tecnología más avanzada de acuerdo

con estándares de sostenibilidad, competitividad y bajas emisiones.

10 – Consolidación de un modelo de gestión de territorios rurales, urbanos y costeros que

facilite la protección de la biodiversidad, el incremento y mantenimiento de la cobertura
forestal y servicios ecosistémicos a partir de soluciones basadas en la naturaleza.

 2030: Aumentar la cobertura forestal de Costa Rica a un 60% para consolidar corredores

biológicos e incrementar la disponibilidad de áreas verdes para la recreación.

¿Cómo se piensa lograr? Para impulsar los cambios deseados en Costa Rica promete apostar
por una reforma fiscal verde, así como una reforma institucional ambiental que incluyen la 
modernización de Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (RECOPE), Instituto Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE) y Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transporte (MOPT) Consejo de Transporte
Público (CTP). Además, el país procurará avanzar en los procesos de digitalización, conectividad
digital, ciudades inteligentes y teletrabajo, entre otras. El proceso de descarbonización será
fortalecido mediante iniciativas de fortalecimiento educativo para lograr cambios de hábitos y
culturales, así como la atracción de inversiones. Transparencia en los procesos, métricas y datos
abiertos son algunas de las herramientas para rendir cuentas de este proceso a la comunidad
nacional e internacional. Costa Rica se prepara así para hacer frente a los desafíos de la “cuarta
revolución industrial”. Reconoce que sus ventajas competitivas radican en potenciar: su capital
natural, su capital humano, su capital energético renovable, con el uso de la tecnología y la
digitalización, para agregar valor y producir bienestar. ¿Cuándo se espera alcanzar la meta? A
través del presente plan, el Gobierno de Costa Rica define que su meta es ser una economía
emisiones netas cero en el 2050. Esta meta es consistente con la ciencia y con el reciente
Informe Especial del IPCC sobre el 1.5°C. Los paquetes de políticas que se presentan y el
proceso de planificación desarrollado, se consideran como acciones de partida, que deberán ser
complementadas y actualizadas en subsiguientes iteraciones bajo el principio de progresión,
siempre de forma consistente con dicha meta. Cumplir una meta a 2050 no significa posponer
las acciones, sino gestar transformaciones de fondo y con urgencia.]]>
Carbon Neutrality in Costa Rica

In 2009, Costa Rica made a big announcement: it would become carbon-neutral by 2021. For a
country that harbors some 5 percent of the planet’s total biodiversity, this was seen as an
almost natural (and certainly noble) extension of national policy.

Becoming carbon-neutral, however, is a herculean task. It’s something that no country has yet
accomplished, but that several are working towards. It requires the collaboration of
government, industry, and individuals both inside the country and beyond its borders.

Carbon-neutrality means having zero output of carbon dioxide. This can only be accomplished

by balancing CO2 outputs with CO2 inputs – or more simply, by not releasing more CO2 than
you can capture or offset.

Costa Rica currently emits around 14.6 million metric tons of CO2 each year. By 2021, that
number is expected to reach 21.7 million tons. In order for Costa Rica to become carbon-
neutral, it will needed to reduce its emissions by some 5.8 million tons over the next ten years.
That’s a lofty goal.

Where to begin?

Farms

A good place to start is with agriculture. Agriculture currently accounts for around 37 percent of
the Costa Rica’s emissions. Nitrous oxide, found in synthetic fertilizers, is the main culprit—it’s
responsible for nearly 54 percent of the agricultural industry’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Methane, an especially potent GHG that comes from animal waste, is also problematic. And
then there are the CO2 emissions associated with packaging and transportation. All told, the
industry’s emissions are pretty high.

Small-scale farming operations are trying to change this. These farmers are beginning to use
fewer conventional fertilizers and instead opt for natural options that mix organic ingredients
with animal waste.

Animal waste is also being framed as less of a problem and more of a solution—the methane
gas from manure is being captured and used for fuel on some farms. Not only does this reduce
GHG emissions, but it also adds a free (and local) source of energy to the farm. Other farmers
are trying to lower methane emissions by seeding pastures with grasses that causes cows to be
less gassy.

It’s not, however, only individual farmers who are heeding the carbon-neutral call—larger
companies are moving in the same direction.
Coopedota is a Costa Rican coffee cooperative just south of San José. In 2011, Coopedota
became the world’s first carbon-neutral coffee producer. To do so, they reduced their water
and energy consumption and began to generate energy from organic material.

The banana and pineapple producer Dole, which has huge plantations along Costa
Rica’s Caribbean coast, is also beginning to embrace carbon-neutrality. The company is working
with Costa Rica’s National Forestry Financing Fund and the Ministry of Environment and Energy
on a project to establish a carbon-neutral supply chain of bananas and pineapples.

Dole’s carbon-neutrality would reach all the way from their production in Costa Rica to their
markets in North America and Europe. This means that the amount of CO2 emitted to produce,
pack, transport and distribute their fruit will be offset by the capture of CO2, thus achieving a
neutral balance. As one of the world’s largest producers and distributors of fruits and
vegetables, this shift in policy could persuade other companies to follow suit.

Aside from its environmental benefits, the move towards carbon-neutrality may also give these
companies a competitive edge in the marketplace. As going green becomes increasingly more
popular (and lucrative), carbon-neutrality provides these companies with a distinct branding
opportunity.

Companies like Coopedota and Dole are unfortunately not the norm in Costa Rica—the majority
of farmers still use conventional fertilizers and farming methods that put out more CO2 than
they take in. If Costa Rica is to continue on its path towards carbon neutrality, it will need to
convince more farmers to emit less CO2.

Doing so may be as simple as education. Rural farmers are often unaware of new developments
in eco-friendly production methods. They’re also unaware of the financial benefits of going
green. For example, it can be cheaper to use animal waste for fertilizer instead of more
conventional options. Farmers must first learn how to implement these practices and then have
a financial incentive to do so.

There are two ways to do make eco-friendly farming more lucrative: lower production costs or
increase the price of goods. As consumers, we must be willing to pay higher prices for products
that are made with sound environmental practices.

Forests

A single tree can capture up to 48 pounds of CO2 each year and sequester nearly 1 ton by the
time it’s 40 years old. What’s more, an acre of trees will absorb as much CO2 in one year as a
car will emit after 26,000 miles.

Put simply, more trees means less CO2 and a healthier environment. Trees not only absorb
CO2, but they also stabilize watersheds and provide habitat for animals.
Today, more than half of Costa Rica is forested—a big leap from 1987 when just 21 percent of
the country was covered with trees. The increase is largely due to government policies
emphasizing conservation.

The Costa Rican government currently pays landowners to not cut down their forests and
instead plant new trees—a program that is paid for in part by a five percent tax on gasoline. In
doing so, this program strikes a balance between CO2-producing and CO2-reducing
components. These kinds of payments are crucial for farmers and landowners who could
otherwise use the land for crops or other economic activities. This, according to many people, is
the kind of economic incentive that is necessary for conservation to truly take root in Costa
Rica.

The program, however, is often criticized as favoring large landowners, because the payments
only extend to landowners with titles for land. This excludes many small farmers and
indigenous peasants, who collectively own a significant amount of land but often lack an official
title. For small farmers, the land is their primary source of income. In order for conservation to
extend to all corners of the country, the government must find a way to pay these small
landowners to conserve forests.

Government officials also have plans to convert land that’s currently used for cattle ranching
and coffee farming into forests by planting some 7 million trees. The trees will eventually be
used for lumber and the land will be replanted with new forests.

In addition to planting new trees or conserving old ones, some landowners are finding creative
ways to increase their forested acreage. A simple strategy is to plant trees in place of fences.

Despite all the new trees being planted, Costa Rica still has a long way to go before its forests
will absorb all the CO2 it produces. In 2005 Costa Rica produced around 12.5 million metric tons
of CO2, but its trees only absorbed about 2.5 million metric tons. That’s a fivefold difference.

Deforestation isn’t as bad as it once was in Costa Rica, but it still exists. Slash and burn
agriculture – often used as a way to clear land for cattle – is practiced in some areas despite
being illegal. Conservation laws have been passed, but the government often lacks the
resources to enforce them.

A decentralized approach to conservation, which allows local governance and management of

protected areas, is promoted as a solution. This is successfully practiced in parts of the country
and has the potential to drastically reduce illegal deforestation.

If trees are to keep pace with rising CO2 levels, more forests will need to be seeded. The
government must also find additional ways to secure payments for farmers and landowners
who plant or conserve their forests. Incentivizing conservation could have powerful (and
relatively rapid) effects.
Transportation

As Costa Rica’s middle class expands, more people are buying cars—in fact, over the past 20
years, the number of cars in Costa Rica has grown by almost 600 percent. With this in mind, the
government is promoting fuel-efficient options, including electric, hybrid, and flex-fuel models.

Costa Rica’s transportation sector will play a huge role in reducing CO2 emissions, and there are
plans underway to change public transportation. Some officials want buses and taxis converted
into zero-emission vehicles.

That’s a lofty goal, but it might just happen—new policies mixing market incentives with stricter
emission regulations are being rolled out. The new emission standards will require bus and taxi
operators to obey tougher regulations on both sound and air pollution.

Researchers at the National University of Costa Rica are working with the United Nations
Development Program to estimate the costs of adjusting the transportation system. They’re
figuring out how to shift public transportation to cleaner technologies and are building models
to give bus and taxi owners an idea of what the change will look like.

At the end of the day, however, consumers will make the biggest difference. By electing to ride
in greener vehicles, consumers can make zero-emissions taxis and buses profitable for their
owners. That may encourage other taxi and bus owners to follow suit.

Carbon emissions associated with domestic and international flights must also be tackled. The
Climate Conscious Travelers program aims to do just this. Established in 2009 by the Costa
Rican National Chamber of Tourism, the program’s goal is to offset 20 percent of flight
emissions to and from Costa Rica. The program is voluntary and essentially offers international
travelers the option of paying to offset the CO2 that’s emitted during their flight—at $10 per
ton of CO2. The proceeds are then used to fund reforestation, conservation, and research in
protected areas.

Critics argue, however, that the country’s popularity with tourists is placing increased strain on
its natural ecosystems. Development, they say, is simply moving too fast for the country to
handle. Some places, particularly the northwestern reaches of the Guanacaste region, have
already experienced overdevelopment. New resorts and roads not only disrupt the natural
landscape, but also add more carbon emissions through their construction and day-to-day
maintenance.

Finding a way to balance a healthy tourism economy with CO2 reduction strategies will be
crucial during the coming years.
Forward Motion

From 2014–2018 Costa Rica will enact its second phase of the carbon-neutral plan. This will
entail additional investment in renewable energy, improvements in waste disposal, and water
treatment. That may mean converting old landfills into energy sources by capturing the
methane gas that the landfills emit. Methane can be used to fuel power plants, vehicles,
manufacturing facilities, and more.

During the final phase of the carbon-neutral plan (which is slated for 2018-2021), government
officials want to focus on advanced energy and sustainable infrastructure and construction
projects. A smart-grid, which will allow for two-way communication between utilities and their
customers, is on the table. A smart-grid is no piece of cake to engineer, but if done right it will
result in a much more efficient use of electricity.

The government knows that a transition to a low-carbon economy will depend on business.
That’s part of the reason they’ve developed the “C-Neutral” standard, which sets a common
standard for carbon-neutral certification. The standard establishes the necessary practices,
requirements, and methodologies that a company needs to follow to become C-Neutral
certified.

The Carbon Neutral Program, launched in 2012, uses various procedures to estimate and certify
the carbon footprint of companies and has suggestions for offsetting carbon emissions. As of
2013, seven companies were certified as C-Neutral and another sixteen are in the process of
obtaining the label.

Some officials balk at the idea of becoming carbon-neutral by 2021, a date which also happens
to be Costa Rica’s 200th anniversary. There simply isn’t enough time, money, or resources, they
say—it makes more sense to shoot for 2030 or even 2050.

Whatever the result, Costa Rica’s ambition to become carbon-neutral has inspired other
countries to follow suit. The list of nations currently working towards carbon-neutrality includes
Norway, Denmark, New Zealand, Iceland, Maldives, British Columbia, Vatican City, Bhutan, and
Monaco.

The trend towards carbon-neutrality is in itself a victory—simply starting the conversation is

valuable. Even so, the fight to significantly lower carbon emissions is only just beginning. The
work will be long and difficult and messy. But considering the stakes (Earth), it’s a fight worth
having.
Costa Rica unveils plan to achieve zero
emissions by 2050 in climate change fight
Environment minister says under plan, his grandchildren in 2035 will have
the same carbon footprint as his grandparents did in the 1940s – and by
2050 none at all

Published onMon 25 Feb 2019 21.13 GMT

Costa Rica has launched an economy-wide plan to “decarbonize” the country

by 2050, as the Central American nation aims to show other nations what is
possible to address climate change.
Environment minister, Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, said that if the plan is
achieved, his grandchildren in 2035 will have the same carbon footprint as his
grandparents did in the 1940s – and by 2050 his grandchildren will have none
at all.

“Not only are we going to reduce that footprint but we are going to bring many
benefits with it,” Rodríguez said.

But Jairo Quirós, an electrical energy researcher at the University of Costa

Rica, warned the plan would be challenging, and “should be viewed with some
caution”.

Under the roadmap launched Sunday, Costa Rica by 2050 would achieve “zero
net emissions”, meaning it would produce no more emissions than it can offset
through things such as maintaining and expanding its extensive forests.

Such emission cuts are key to holding increases in global temperature to well
under 2C (3.6F), the goal of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.
The Costa Rica plan aims to allow the country to continue growing
economically while cutting greenhouse gases. The country’s economy grew at
3% last year, according to World Bank data.

Christiana Figueres, the Costa Rican former UN climate chief, called the goal
“unprecedented” in international politics.

Only the government of the tiny Marshall Islands also has laid out a detailed
plan to achieve that goal, but “they still do not have the whole plan articulated
sector by sector”, Figueres told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
President Carlos Alvarado noted that while Costa Rica represents only a tiny
share of the world’s climate-changing emissions, the plan could be a model for
other nations.

“We can be that example – we have to inspire people,” he said at the plan’s
launch,.

But Quirós, of the University of Costa Rica, warned the plan will take hard
work to achieve.

Some goals, he said, such as ensuring all buses and taxis run on electricity by
2050, may be difficult, not least because the changes will be expensive.
Transport today creates about 40% of Costa Rica’s climate-changing
emissions, making it the largest single source of them, according to the
National Meteorological Institute.

The new plan aims to modernize public transport, including through the
creation of an electric train line that would connect 15 of the 31 neighborhoods
in the San José metropolitan area, according to the Costa Rican Institute of
Railways.

Construction on the lines is expected to start in 2022.

Under Costa Rica’s decarbonization plan, the number of cars circulating in

urban areas would be cut by half by 2040, the environment minister said.

By 2035, 70% of the country’s buses would be electric and 25% of its cars,
Rodríguez added.

Costa Rica does not have a fossil fuel extraction industry, but dependence on
oil revenue could still cause problems. Fuel taxes, vehicle import taxes and
driving taxes currently account for about 12% of government revenue, the
minister said.

To phase out fossil fuels without slashing government income, the government
will need to push for “green tax reform” to find new revenue sources, he said –
which would need legislative approval.

Under the plan, the country’s state-owned petroleum distributor would

change course and begin research on alternative fuels, such as hydrogen and
biofuels, and look at helping fossil fuel workers move to clean energy jobs.
The plan also calls for further expanding forests – though at the moment most
of the money to pay for that comes from taxes on fossil fuels, Rodríguez
admitted.

“In the 1960s and 70s, Costa Rica had the highest per capita deforestation rate
in the world. We have managed not only to stop deforestation but to double
forest coverage” as the economy grew, Rodríguez said.

Last year, 98% of the country’s electricity came from renewable sources,
according to the Costa Rican Electricity Institute, the state-owned company in
charge of electricity generation and distribution.

Quirós, the University of Costa Rica researcher, said the country’s plan, while
“a little utopian” was clearly “a step in the right direction”.

“It’s good to be ambitious,” he said.

All that glitters is not green: Costa Rica's
renewables conceal dependence on oil
Costa Rica produced 98% of its electricity last year without fossil fuels but
the sustainable success story unravels with the rising demand for gasoline
and cars

Lindsay Fendt in San José

Thu 5 Jan 2017 16.51 GMTLast modified on Wed 14 Feb 2018 17.48 GMT

Unless you’ve avoided social media for the last week, you probably know that last
year, Costa Rica was able to produce 98% of its electricity without oil – a feat that most
larger and wealthier countries have never accomplished.

Over the past few days, reports of Costa Rica’s 271 days of fossil-fuel free electricity have
made their way to almost every corner of the internet.

The news has bolstered the Central American country’s already outstanding
environmental reputation – but the excitement has masked another less-than-green
truth about Costa Rica’s energy use: the country’s demand for oil is actually growing.

The country uses a mix of hydro, wind and geothermal to power the homes of its 4.9
million people, but because of its gasoline-dependent transportation sector, renewables
make up less than a quarter of the nation’s total energy use.

According to Costa Rica’s State of the Region report, the country has approximately 287
cars per 1,000 people, surpassing both the world and Latin American average.

Hybrids and electric cars that can feed off the renewable electricity grid make up less
than 2% of those vehicles, and according to the national oil refinery, gas purchases
increased by 11% in 2016.

This explosive growth in private vehicles is causing more than just pollution. Traffic in
the capital, San José, has become almost unmanageable, with the city earning the worst
ranking for congestion in Latin America, according to a study by the navigation app
Waze.

While the footage of Costa Rica’s pristine jungles may suggest otherwise, this traffic-
plagued city is home to more than half of all Costa Ricans – many of whom have lost
their appetite for San José’s antiquated bus system.

With more Costa Ricans now able to afford cars, demand for oil is expected to continue
growing, unless major changes are made to attract people to public transit and electric
vehicles.
Alongside a growing thirst for fuel, demand for electricity is also rising in Costa Rica, but
new renewable generation infrastructure will likely cover the increase.

“For 2017, we expect renewable electricity generation to remain stable,” ICE’s executive
president, Carlos Manuel Obregón, said recently. “We have four new wind plants and
expect favorable rain conditions in the basins that feed our plants.”

Aside from the new wind farms, the Reventazón hydroelectric dam near the country’s
Caribbean coast became fully functional in September. With the capacity to power an
estimated 525,000 homes, the new dam is strategically positioned to take advantage of
the increased rainfall in the country’s Caribbean region, and will be critical for
maintaining hydroelectric production in the face of repeated droughts in other parts of
the country.

The Reventazón is now the largest hydroelectric project in Central America, but the
region has long relied on dams for power. Though Costa Rica has made major
investments in wind and geothermal plants in the last 25 years – with its percentage of
non-hydro renewables well surpassing the world average – the country still routinely
produces more than 70% of its electricity each year using dams.

Though hydropower is cleaner than burning bunker fuel for electricity, the heavy
reliance on dams carries its own cost. The Reventazón project was criticized by
environmental groups for its position along a critical wildlife corridor and the planned
Diquís dam in the country’s south-west has been held up for years due to conflicts with
indigenous groups.

While the country has continued to view dams as a viable way to create renewable
electricity, solar power has been pushed aside, due to political concerns that home-
generated power would cut into the state electricity company’s profits.

Despite the country’s limitations, Costa Rica’s renewable electricity production will
probably continue to grow, as the government explores options to begin exporting its
surplus electricity to its neighbors.