Costa Rica ranked second in the environmental sustainability report prepared by the World Energy Council (WEC).
On the list ranking 126 countries Costa Rica is only surpassed by Switzerland.
The WEC gave “B” to Costa Rica in security and energy equity, based on the progress the country made over the past two years.
Other interesting facts that came out of the report is Costa Rica has a very large hydroelectric generation market which at 75.9%, with a complement of geothermal 6.4% and 17.7% from other initiatives that focused on renewable and environmental sustainability.
Although Costa Rica has many successes in renewable energy there is still some controversy over energy initiatives such as the Parismina Hydroelectric Project or geothermal potential in the National Park Rincon de la Vieja, which was identified to have potential negative environmental impact.
“There are many tourist interests, such as forests and waterfalls, which are abundant in the area. If you make the river for hydroelectric projects, we would lose the potential to generate livelihoods for the inhabitants of this area, which is rural tourism, “said Erlinda Quesada, from a neighboring group related to the project at Parismina.
Costa Rica has dedicated over 25% of its land area to national parks and reserves and continues to increase that percentage annually.
Also Costa Rica has a lofty goal of becoming the world’s first carbon neutral country by 2021. (CrHoy)
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose Costa Rica