The Central American country of Costa Rica is aiming to be the first single-use plastic and carbon-free country by 2021. Recognising that it is home to 6% of the world’s biodiversity, the country unveiled its strategy to replace traditional plastics with biodegradable alternatives back in 2017 – making it the first in the world to officially do so – and already uses renewable sources for 99% of its energy.
Its moves to become disposable-plastic-free and carbon neutral (meaning the country must remove as much carbon dioxide from the environment as it emits) follow decades of efforts to protect its environment, including reforestation and creating protected zones. It has also pledged to ban the use of fossil fuels, such as petrol, which if fulfilled would see a wholescale conversion to electric vehicles.
“Basing [electricity] generation on renewable resources allows the country to achieve one of the lowest ratios of greenhouse gas emissions to electrical consumption on the planet,” the Costa Rican Electricity Institute said. Since 2016, the country has derived nearly all of its energy from hydroelectric plants on rivers, volcanic geothermal power, wind farms and solar. Now the move to ban disposable plastics is being funded by the United Nations Development Program.
At his inauguration in 2019, president Carlos Alvarado Quesada stated that “decarbonisation is the great task of our generation”, and the country is part of the Wellbeing Economies Alliance, a group of states dedicated to citizens’ wellbeing and sustainability instead of a rigid priority to increase GDP.
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The Central American country of Costa Rica is aiming to be the first single-use plastic and carbon-free country by 2021. Recognising that it is home to 6% of the world’s biodiversity, the country unveiled its strategy to replace traditional plastics with biodegradable alternatives back in 2017 – making it the first in the world to officially do so – and already uses renewable sources for 99% of its energy.
Its moves to become disposable-plastic-free and carbon neutral (meaning the country must remove as much carbon dioxide from the environment as it emits) follow decades of efforts to protect its environment, including reforestation and creating protected zones. It has also pledged to ban the use of fossil fuels, such as petrol, which if fulfilled would see a wholescale conversion to electric vehicles.
“Basing [electricity] generation on renewable resources allows the country to achieve one of the lowest ratios of greenhouse gas emissions to electrical consumption on the planet,” the Costa Rican Electricity Institute said. Since 2016, the country has derived nearly all of its energy from hydroelectric plants on rivers, volcanic geothermal power, wind farms and solar. Now the move to ban disposable plastics is being funded by the United Nations Development Program.
At his inauguration in 2019, president Carlos Alvarado Quesada stated that “decarbonisation is the great task of our generation”, and the country is part of the Wellbeing Economies Alliance, a group of states dedicated to citizens’ wellbeing and sustainability instead of a rigid priority to increase GDP.