On September 27, Costa Rica presented its commitments to combat climate change alongside its municipalities and cities. The virtual launch of the climate strategy aimed to present the second phase (2022-2024) of Costa Rican actions related to the issue, which will be implemented alongside seven other strategies to address climate change in Latin America, launched in June. The meeting was moderated by Jordan Harris, Coordinator of the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy in the Americas.
The National Local Climate Action Strategy in Costa Rica includes measures to support its cities and cantons that are members of the Global Covenant of Mayors in implementing concrete climate actions over the next two years, thereby contributing to meeting the objectives of the Paris Agreement to combat climate change and limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
During the meeting, the EU Cooperation Attaché in Costa Rica, Birgit Vleugels, representing the European Union Ambassador, highlighted that urbanization is a clear global trend and that Latin America is more urbanized than any other region in the world. “80% of people live in cities, and this is a trend that will continue to increase, even in Costa Rica,” she said, noting that climate change and urban development are priority issues for the European Union.
“As the European Union, we have a strong commitment to climate action. Almost three years ago, our leaders agreed to achieve a climate-neutral union by 2050, which we call the European Green Deal. Outside Europe, we provide financial support for efforts aligned with these climate ambitions, both at the national level, as in the case of Costa Rica, and at the regional level. And that’s why we are here today, because the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy is one of these global and regional initiatives that aligns with our ambitions, and that’s why we decided to champion this effort,” explained Vleugels. “This program is for you. Thank you for the support and tools, and for the pursuit of very concrete results with direct impact on the territories,” she concluded.
Karen Porras, Executive Director of the National Union of Local Governments (UNGL), one of the coordinating institutions of the GCoM in the country, mentioned the climate problems faced by Costa Rica and the paths to their solutions.
“There are many problems, not only landslides but also in infrastructure issues. It is generally seen as a national problem, but the impact is on the territories, and it is up to our local governments to give first aid and resolve issues on the front line,” she pointed out.
To address these issues, she believes it is necessary not only to have measurements but also affirmative actions to resolve and, above all, prevent damage. “The issue of prevention at the local level in such vulnerable countries can make the difference between saving lives and ensuring that people are living in safe cities,” concluded Porras.
The Vice-Rector of Extension at the National University of Costa Rica (UNA), Martín Parada Gómez, represented UNA as the National Coordinator and implementing entity of the Strategy, along with Alina Aguilar, researcher and academic from the university, who presented the work axes and activities for the execution period of the launched Strategy. Gómez stated that “the National Strategy proposes to improve planning processes and the articulation of initiatives at the international and national levels, with the sole objective of strengthening the climate agenda of local governments. Costa Rica has made significant progress in national climate change policies, plans, and programs, but now the big challenge is vertical and horizontal articulation to achieve a greater impact and work strongly on climate action,” he concluded.
The National Union of Local Governments (UNGL) and the National University (UNA) of Costa Rica, as National Coordinators, are responsible for carrying out the Covenant activities in the national context, with the support and contribution of the members of the National Advisory Committee of the Covenant in Costa Rica, thus adding more strength to the multi-level governance of Costa Rica, which has advanced so much in recent years.
Iván Delgado, Director of Climate Change at the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, highlighted the importance of adaptation for the institution. “Climate change adaptation is a phenomenon of adjustments, responses, and solutions to try to reduce losses and damage from hydrometeorological events. It is essential to understand these adjustments and responses because the impacts of climate change occur in the territories. The climate action already being carried out, both through reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to these adverse climatic events to our national reality, is extremely important,” emphasized Delgado.
Experiences from Belén and Cañas
The city of Belén, which has been part of the Covenant since 2018, was present at the presentation of the National Local Climate Action Strategy of the country. Mayor Thais Zumbado Ramírez reported that the city faces problems during heavy rainfall periods. “When it rains heavily here, Belén cannot handle the volume of water because it does not have the necessary structure to store it. Therefore, every year there are many floods that damage the region.”
Despite the problems, the city already has measures to mitigate the situation. “We promote environmental education programs and land use for construction, to avoid pollution of rivers and streams with solid waste and other debris, as well as establishing neighborhood brigades for cleaning and maintaining drains and watercourses,” highlighted Ramírez.
Cañas also participated in the presentation, with words from Mayor Gricelda Vargas Segura. Located in the northwest of Costa Rica, the city joined the Covenant of Mayors in 2020 and has since advanced in its climate actions, being recognized with two Covenant medals: one for mitigation and one for adaptation.
“For this year, we created the ‘Cañas Respira’ project, a municipal project aimed at increasing forest cover, reducing greenhouse gases, and minimizing the effects of climate change in our region,” said the mayor.
Rebecca Borges, the expert for the Covenant in Costa Rica, highlighted that the country’s National Strategy was launched “after an important collaborative development and validation process among national and subnational actors, and will be implemented over the next 2 years by UNGL and UNA, with the support of the European Union, with high expectations for progress in strengthening climate action.”
Axes and Objectives for Costa Rica’s Climate Strategy:
- Capacity Building
- Build capacity in local governments to design their Climate Action Plans, according to their state of development in local climate action, implement and report on the relevant platforms – national in Costa Rica (SINAMECC) and international GCoM (CDP-ICLEI).
- Technical Assistance
- Provide technical assistance to local governments signatories of the GCoM in Costa Rica according to different stages to guide local governments based on their state of development in local climate action, and serve as input for the development of the Support Guide for participation in GCoM and Costa Rica’s climate leadership programs.
- Reporting
- Align the reporting systems, SINAMECC and CDP, and support a group of municipalities to report on both platforms.
- Project Structuring and Financing
- Identify municipal projects with potential to be grouped, proposed by local governments signatories, in order to generate support in preparing proposals and prioritizing climate financing options at the national and international levels.
- Synergies and Visibility
- Promote the GCoM initiative in Costa Rica.
- Generate and enhance synergies among cantons, international agencies/cooperation, institutions, and social actors working on climate action in the country. Advocate in collaboration with the mUEve Project, the Interlace Project, the Network of Local Governments of Costa Rica (CG-LAC), the Participatory Strategies for Local Climate Action Project – School of Environmental Sciences of the National University, Agencies, and international cooperation supporting the country’s climate policy and local governments such as UNDP, GIZ, Spanish and French cooperation.
- Increase visibility for GCoM and national and international agendas and local actions.
Access the event video on YouTube.
