Costa Rica plans to ban fossil fuels completely
Costa Rica is a leader in clean energy development, with 99% of its current electricity coming from renewable energy.
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Costa Rica paves the way for an economy powered entirely by clean fuels. Photo.Global Citizen. |
Costa Rica announced plans on May 9 to ban fossil fuels and become a leader in the global fight against climate change.Global CitizenThe historic announcement was made by Costa Rica's new President, Carlos Alvarado, during his inauguration ceremony at the Plaza de la Democracia in the capital San Jose.
"Getting rid of fossil fuels is the great task of our generation and Costa Rica will be one of the pioneers in doing so," Alvarado stressed in a speech on Wednesday. "We will pave the way for an economy powered entirely by clean and renewable energy."
Costa Rica is one of the world's leading countries in developing clean energy. Currently, 99% of the electricity used by the country comes from renewable energy. Geographical features help this small country receive 78.26% of its energy from hydroelectricity. In addition, the small population of just over 4.8 million people (according to 2016 statistics) allows Costa Rica to not need too much energy. The success in developing renewable energy also comes from the determination and action of the government.
Transportation will be the first sector to be addressed because it accounts for a large portion of the country’s energy needs. The Costa Rican government has set a goal of 100% clean-energy vehicles by 2021, a challenging but revolutionary goal for the country.