By: D.W.
The Government of Costa Rica promotes in Congress a bill that seeks to prohibit the exploration and exploitation of oil and natural gasin order to consolidate the country’s international “leadership” in environmental matters, as reported this Wednesday (07.28.2021).
The Executive has control of the legislative agenda in the extraordinary session of Congress, which is why it decided to give priority to discussion and even a possible vote in the coming days to the project called Law to advance in the Elimination of the Use of Fossil Fuels in Costa Rica and Declare the National Territory Free of Exploration and Exploitation of Oil and Gas.
This initiative will allowcontinue to exercise global leadership on environmental issues and place ourselves at the forefront of environmental policies“said the government of Carlos Alvarado it’s a statement. “The approval of this initiative will express our country’s willingness to continue on the path of contributing to the global goals to combat climate change and progress towards the promotion and use of sustainable energy.“added the Executive.
Nowadays, In Costa Rica, oil exploration and exploitation is banned until 2050 by means of a presidential decree, which could be revoked by any representative who deems it appropriate. That is why the current government promotes the prohibition by means of a law. This initiative received the support of a group of 150 non-governmental organizations and companies that make up the Costa Rica Free Drilling Movement, which believes the law would make the Central American country a “world icon.”
“This bill does not represent any short-term interest, but rather the interest of protecting the treasury of our country from a very bad investment in technologies that are falling and are reaching their expiration date globally.“, declared the former executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and leader of the negotiation of the Paris agreement, the Costa Rican Christiana Figueres.
The lawyer and spokesperson for the Costa Rica Free Drilling Movement, Álvaro Cedeño, assured for his part that Costa Rica has all the necessary tools to continue growing and reactivating the economy through sustainable initiatives and proposals. “We have the opportunity to celebrate the bicentennial (of independence) as a global icon that sets the tone and trend towards the best possible future. This position allows us not only to direct attention to the country, but also resources to continue promoting sustainable economic reactivation projects, and opens spaces for our knowledge to be exported and serve as a guide to many other countries.”, he asserted.