Costa Rica’s emerging status as a green energy leader has won renewed praise from experts, who have been discussing the country’s 99 percent fossil-free electricity use.

The country is the most “progressive” country in Central America, and has been able to achieve an almost completely carbon-neutral footprint when sourcing electricity for its citizens in 2015.

Recent, official studies have shown that about 18 percent of all of Costa Rica’s energy use is renewable, with 99 percent of its electricity sourced from green energy supplies. The other main sources of energy in the country include biomass, hydrocarbons, and coal.

Still, only 20% of Costa Rica’s renewable energy is being used right now, while fossil fuels remain the popular choice. 

Costa Rica has made an effort to become a more environmentally-friendly country, as it is filled with lots of natural beauty and relies heavily on its land for agriculture and tourism.

The goal to reduce fossil fuels is a long-term one, but definitely not impossible, especially for a country like Costa Rica, which tends to prioritize the environment during its policy changes.

“The thing about Costa Rica that’s important is that it set out to do something and it delivered on it,” said Professor Henrietta Moore of the Institute for Global Prosperity, who spoke about the government’s success in aiming to reduce fossil fuel use.

Costa Rica has been constantly struggling to conserve the environment, with a lot of natural landscapes at stake. Though they are making an active effort in order to reduce the effects of Global Warming, it’s still something that cannot be fully avoided.

Rising sea levels have become a constant threat to Costa Rica’s eastern tropical coast known as “Little Jamaica”.

Scientists have reported that the Costa Rica Caribbean coast has nearly lost about 66% of its beach in only 15 years, due to rising sea levels, changing wave patterns, and coastal erosion.

However, Costa Rica is making sure that its fight against Global Warming is a strong one. The country has developed The National System of Metrics in Climate Change (SINAMECC), a recent verification and transparency system that monitors climate data.

This system is basically a software that stores the information of all the initiatives implemented by the country, from different sectors, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions responsible for warming the atmosphere.

It will specifically allow the country to limit and keep records of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from companies and institutions.

Although Costa Rica still relies heavily on fossil fuels as a source of energy, the country has made combating climate change its national priority.

Historically, Costa Rica’s economy has relied heavily on its tropical agricultural products like coffee, bananas, and sugar. However, ecotourism has recently been growing rapidly, and become the main source of income as a result.

So, it’s now especially important for Costa Rica to preserve its natural landscape. Since the ban of 1966 that made it illegal to raze mature forest, many of the country’s forests have been able to thrive. In fact, Costa Rica has become the most effective country in the world in combating deforestation.

Costa Rica is a world leader among the most progressive nations on Earth when it comes to climate change. The next goal for Costa Rica is to become the world’s first carbon-neutral country by 2021. It has undeniably become a role model in combating Global Warming, and if efforts continue, the future of Costa Rica will be looking brighter than ever.

Feature Image via Flickr / Arturo Sotillo

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