Costa Rica’s ‘leave it in the ground’ policy in doubt after election

Costa Rica’s new president might abandon the nation’s coverage of not producing oil and fuel, undermining efforts by the earlier administration to guide a world motion.

Conservative economist Rodrigo Chaves Robles was elected president of the central American nation on Sunday evening, defeating José María Figueres.

Requested about oil and fuel manufacturing through the marketing campaign, Chaves advised La Republica he was towards oil exploration however “relating to fuel, it’s a technical query”.

He continued: “I don’t see a contradiction between the surroundings and the rational administration of pure assets. Norway has finished it and has finished it tremendous effectively.”

Norway is Europe’s largest producer of fuel whereas additionally main on electrical car adoption and on contributing cash to fight local weather change internationally.

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Underneath the outgoing president Carlos Alvarado Quesada and surroundings minister Andrea Meza, Costa Rica co-founded the Past Oil and Fuel Alliance with Denmark.

This alliance promised to set an finish date for oil and fuel extraction and finish new concessions, licensing or leasing rounds.

At Cop26 local weather talks in Glasgow, UK final November, Costa Rica and Denmark signed up international locations together with France, Portugal and Sweden representing 0.2% of worldwide oil manufacturing.

Ana María Durán-Quesada, a physicist and member of Costa Rica’s Scientific Local weather Change Committee, stated that there have been “considerations” about potential fuel exploration however “that’s one thing through which we don’t actually have a certainty what the path can be”.

There’s no information on how a lot oil and fuel, if any, Costa Rica has. There have been makes an attempt a long time in the past to discover offshore however Costa Rica’s stringent conservation guidelines stopped them.

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Sam Goodman is a Costa Rica-based campaigner for La Ruta Del Clima. He stated that whereas the direct impression of fuel exploration can be restricted, it could have a broader reputational impression.

“We’ll have Costa Rica, one of many co-chairs of the Past Oil and Fuel Alliance they usually begin the exploratory course of for pure fuel. How will that look? As a result of the world appears to Costa Rica because the worldwide chief. Plenty of which may be in jeopardy,” Goodman stated.

He advised Local weather Dwelling “we’re positively going to see some backsliding but it surely’s unclear how important the backslide will likely be”.

In Denmark, campaigners are additionally involved. Danish Church Support adviser Mattias Sodeberg advised Local weather Dwelling “it’s worrying if Costa Rica will change its strategy to fuel”.

“Their management is crucial to push the Past Oil and Fuel Alliance marketing campaign ahead. I do hope that they’ll rethink rigorously earlier than altering their positions, or else they danger dropping their management place within the local weather debate,” he added.

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Chaves’ selection for surroundings minister is prone to be made within the subsequent few weeks. It will give an excellent indication of his environmental coverage, Goodman and Durán-Quesada stated.

Costa Rica has persistently punched above its weight in local weather diplomacy and is thought for getting practically all its electrical energy from renewable sources – principally hydropower. The architect of the Paris Settlement, Cristiana Figueres, is a Costa Rican former diplomat and the sister of defeated presidential candidate Figueres.