Costa Rica is known worldwide for promoting sustainability, protecting the environment, and encouraging a green lifestyle. The country is home to approximately 5% of the world’s biodiversity and has understood the importance of safeguarding it.
The Conference of the Parties
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the United Nations Climate Change Conference. In this international meeting, world leaders and heads of state assess progress regarding climate change issues.
The first COP meeting was held in Berlin, Germany, in March 1995. Each year a new country is chosen to host this event.
COP meetings are aimed at constructing solutions to limit climate change. The work revolves around negotiations and deliberations between countries as they review their contributions toward fulfilling the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Costa Rica’s participation
Costa Rica has participated in the COP since it first began in 1994. The country signed the Convention on June 13, 1992, and ratified it on August 26, 1994. It also signed the Kyoto Protocol on April 27, 1998, and ratified it on August 9, 2002.
Back in 2007, authorities also announced a political commitment to be carbon neutral by 2021.
Throughout the years, Costa Rica has discussed and negotiated topics such as the shared vision of long-term cooperation, mitigation, climate change adaptation, and climate financing.
During COP25, the country stood out as one of the most committed countries in this field. Costa Rica defended the importance of forests and marine ecosystems as a solution to climate change and led a group of countries seeking fairer conditions in carbon markets.
In addition, the country stood out as it was constructing, in collaboration with France, the High Ambition Coalition for People and Nature, a 30×30 global alliance to protect 30% of the ocean and land by 2030.
The Minister of Environment held bilateral meetings with a dozen countries to invite them to join the agreement.
According to the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Costa Rica has played a historic role in promoting greater ambition in achieving climate goals, reducing emissions as much as possible, and motoring which countries are not complying.
The country wants it and deserves it
In 2018, Andrea Meza, Director of Climate Change of the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, confirmed Costa Rica’s bid to host the next Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Climate Change.
Former President Carlos Alvarado expressed his desire to bring this annual meeting to Costa Rica, believing the country was up for the task.
“The fight against climate change calls us today to take a step forward, just as we did 70 years ago when we abolished our army. Our convictions for a better planet are enormous, and that is why Costa Rica announces its agreement to host the #COP25 climate conference,” said Carlos Alvarado.
Activists, NGOs, politicians, and all Costa Ricans who actively care for the environment must revive this campaign.
Time is ticking, and countries that prioritize environmental action, such as Costa Rica, must be given the spotlight and are trusted to lead such fundamental negotiations.
It is certainly not a perfect country, and it must continue to work to take care of its natural jewels, but it is a nation that has demonstrated that it has the planet at the center of its development policies.
