Thursday 24 November 2016

Costa Rica: 'clean power superstar'?

In the past year or so, a number of media reports have appeared which usually look something like this:

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Indeed, there appears to be somewhat of a media consensus that this small Central American country is (as described in the EcoWatch article) a 'clean power superstar'. There is indeed justification for this praise. Costa Rica does undoubtedly generate the vast majority of its electricity from renewable sources (Nandwani, 2006). Moreover, the country's per capita emissions of carbon dioxide are just 1.6 metric tonnes, well below those of other Latin American countries at comparable levels of development (UNDP, 2015) such as Mexico (3.9 tonnes) and Cuba (3.5 tonnes) (World Bank, 2016). Accordingly, Costa Rica is one of only five countries credited by the Climate Action Tracker as taking 'sufficient' measures to fulfil its contribution to keeping global temperature increase below 2 degrees C. This classification is supported by the Costa Rican government's undoubted will to take action regarding GHG emissions, having published a National Climate Change Strategy in 2008 which aims for carbon neutrality by 2021 (though Costa Rica's more recent Intended Nationally Determined Contribution, submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC] in 2015, was far less ambitious, postponing the goal of carbon neutrality until 2085).

It would initially appear, therefore, that Costa Rica is indeed a 'superstar' in terms of renewable energy production and limiting GHG emissions. This provokes the idea that Costa Rica's approach to energy production could potentially represent an example for other countries to follow to meet their own emissions reduction targets. However, we should be cautious before prescribing global solutions based on what appears successful in one instance alone. When it comes to producing electricity from renewable sources, Costa Rica has some significant geographical advantages. Due to its tropical latitude, the country has extremely high summer rainfall, allowing large-scale hydro-power production. Volcanoes are also relatively abundant within Costa Rica's territory, making large-scale geothermal power possible (Nandwani, 2006). A further caveat is that Costa Rica simply requires less energy than many other countries, with a small population (under 5 million) and no large-scale industry to power (Fendt, 2016). Moreover, despite very low GHG emissions from electricity production, growing ownership of private cars constitutes a significant challenge for Costa Rica in terms of achieving carbon neutrality - emissions from the transport sector already account for nearly 70% of the country's total GHG emissions (Pratt, 2010). For all the country's successes with regard to the renewable production of electricity, huge changes must be made within Costa Rica's transport sector if emissions targets are to be met. Costa Rica must demonstrate how an effective, low-emissions transport network can be developed before it can truly be called a 'clean power superstar'.

It is doubtful that many other countries can use the example set by Costa Rica to guide them in reducing their own GHG emissions. Most other countries do not have the geographical advantages enjoyed by Costa Rica, and often require far higher generating capacity to sustain larger populations and more developed industry. Yet the country's overall attitude towards an active focus on renewable energy, and seriously ambitious emissions targets, should provide an example to other countries. With a focus on appropriate methods of low-carbon energy production, even countries with very high energy use can achieve impressive results. In the 3rd quarter of 2016, the UK generated over 50% of its electricity from low-emissions sources, of which nearly half (46%) was generated from nuclear power or renewables, which produce zero GHG emissions (Watts, 2016). France, meanwhile, currently generates around 78% of its electricity from emissions-free nuclear power. In summary, it is beyond doubt that the means exist for any country to effect dramatic reductions in GHG emissions while maintaining sufficient generating capacity. However, significant challenges remain in other sectors of energy production, not least that of transport.

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