'Conventional Measures No Longer Reaches the Climate Challenge We Face'

(MENAFN- Costa Rica News) In a message that went from the emotional to the energetic,President Carlos Alvaradomarked this moment: 'It is time to move from words to deeds, with a sense of urgency and transcendence. That is the message that we must send to the international community as a result of this meeting, and to COP25 organized by our Chilean brothers', to be held next December.

Alvarado announced his decree of the moratorium on oil exploration and exploitationuntil 2050 and added that 'we have also asked the congress to prohibit the exploitation of oil by law to send that message with greater force' to the world. 'The climate crisis is the biggest challenge that we will face this and the next generations'.

Alvarado told the PreCOP25 participants that it is thanks to the 'commitment, to his conviction, to his overwhelming response to this call, as well as to the support of millions of people across the planet' that solutions will be possible. 'And that is why, on behalf of the entire Costa Rican population, I want to thank you for being here', he added.

The president evoked the agricultural origins
of Costa Rican society to explain the vocation of protection of the nature of
his people. 'I want to call your attention to a simple object, but central to
our welcome message and especially in our origins as a people. Humble and
simple as it is, this is not only a bag with coffee that we give you as a way
to make our gratitude tangible, but it represents a key to the essence of our
people, which has been intertwined with the milestones of our society over the
almost 200 years of independent life'.

Coffee was 'the first product that linked us
to international markets and the object of public policies to protect small
producers that abound in our coffee activity, as well as to regulate relations
between all the actors in their value chain. Environmentally, that pioneering
attitude has not been left behind', he said.

Costa
Rica's NAMA coffee

He recalled that 3 decades ago the
traditional way of processing coffee had an intensive consumption of water and
polluted the rivers. 'From small producer cooperatives to large processing
companies they adopted new methods to recirculate water, thus reducing their
total consumption; then treat the water used in the process, to reduce its
impact on the rivers; and separate the pulp to treat it and convert it into
organic fertilizer, which allowed to improve the soils, decrease the
consumption of agrochemicals and increase the yield of the crop. Now, its
cultivation is also done by agroforestry systems'.

'Today we are honored to say that the first agricultural NAMA in the world was theNAMA coffee of Costa Rica . These nationally implemented mitigation actions are the result of the joint work of the private producer sector, public institutions, and international cooperation. Today we can say that more than 1/5 of our coffee is produced sustainably and is low ingreenhouse gas emissions '.

The President's emphasis continued by stating
that 'current consumers, but especially future ones' will demand these
conditions from market products to reduce emissions, a factor that is 'correct
from an ethical point of view' and will add value 'in a competitive world that
will demand it'.

Environmental
and peace commitment

Our country has 'a great environmental
ambition. As we have done with the NAMA coffee, we have also managed to reverse
deforestation and increase our forest cover to the current 52%, and we have
managed to generate clean and renewable energy in more than 98% of our
electricity matrix. The foregoing was also accompanied by the abolition of the
armed forces 70 years ago, a pillar and a message of peace', said the
president.

He recalled that these reasons prompted the
government to propose Costa Rica as a laboratory country for decarbonization,
in 2015, as part of the Paris Agreement.

Axes
of the decarbonization plan

He added that theNational Decarbonization Plan2018-2050 was presented in February of the current year, with ambitious goals in 10 axes, which include public, private and freight transport; sustainable and clean production in industry; smart cities; digitalization; waste management; agriculture, livestock, and forest resources.

He pointed out where the obstacles are: Now,
skepticism, questions or valid doubts are focused on the cost / benefit of
action against climate change and economic growth'.

Driven by the decision 'to become a
laboratory for decarbonization, we decided to demonstrate the cost / benefit of
our Plan, through a rigorous academic exercise in which the University of Costa
Rica, the IDB, the Rand Corporation, the Real have collaborated Institute of
Technology of Stockholm, Sweden, and the Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico'.

As a scoop, he said, that by measuring the
first 3 axes of the Plan until 2050 -related to public transport, private
transport and freight transport- 'the researchers' findings suggest that the
country will obtain a net benefit of US $ 19.5 billion when making the changes
indicated there'.

This is because we should make investments
for almost US$ 6,000 million by 2050, including those related to electrical
infrastructure to enable transport electrification. That investment would allow
us to earn US$ 11.1 billion as a result of lower operating costs, he added.

There is a first direct profit, for US $ 5.2
billion net by 2050. To this we must add benefits in terms of health, greater
productivity due to less road congestion and avoided accidents, which represent
a total of US$ 14,300 million by 2050, according to the projections of the
experts.

'These data reflect that the
decarbonization laboratory called Costa Rica can prove that the ambitious
objectives of decarbonization are attainable without harming development, sustainable,
human and economic', pointed out the president.

Moratorium
and ban on oil exploitation

President Alvarado announced that 'with
confidence in these data, we have not only decreed the moratorium on oil
exploration and exploitation by 2050, but we have asked the congress to
prohibit the exploitation of oil by law to send that message with greater force.'

Our greatest ambition, he said, 'is to implement innovative policies in the hands of inclusive policies in various fields, from a healthy environment, job creation, equality between men and women, non-discrimination of any kind and digital inclusion in the era of the4th Industrial Revolution '.

'Peace, sustainability, respect for human rights, innovation, high environmental ambition, but above all empathy and friendship: that we want to offer today synthesized in a coffee bag, which we wish you can take with the people you love, so that you Share a message of courage and hope about the present and the future. That is our dream and the invitation that Costa Ricans make to the entire international community.

We invite you these days to get out of the ordinary, of the conventional, and translate our greatest ambitions into concrete actions to face the challenge of the climate crisis. Thank you very much and very appropriately said on this occasion: Pura Vida!', concluded the president.

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