Puntarenas

Alajuela

San José

Cartago

Guanacaste

Heredia

Limón

Costa Rica

Compile the national inventory of greenhouse gases biannually, through the use of methods, data and assumptions consistent according to current international methodologies adopted for this purpose.

That Costa Rica elaborated in 2015, a mitigation objective long-term plan for the year 2050, designed on the basis of the best science available at that time and its global responsibility to move towards global carbon neutrality by the second half of the century, which was included in his Contribution Nationally Determined (NDC).

In 2007, Costa Rica launched its commitment to be carbon neutral by 2021, a goal included in the National Climate Change Strategy (2009) and in its Plan for Action (2013).

By 2050, 4,500 hectares of green areas function as recreational parks in the GAM, and a system of environmental-pedestrian networks that serves as biological corridors and pedestrian corridors is consolidated.

By 2030, maintain forest cover and increase to 60% while ensuring at the same time this type of coverage does not compete with the agricultural sector.

By 2030, 70% of the livestock herd and 60% of the area dedicated to livestock implement low-carbon technologies.

By 2050, 50% buildings, commercial, residential and institutional will operate with low emission standards (high electrification or use of renewable energy in cooking processes and water heating).

By 2030, 100% of new buildings are designed and built adopting systems and technologies for low emissions and resilience under bioclimatic parameters.

By 2025, place a 10% increase in the use of wood, bamboo and other local materials in buildings.

By 2030 the electrical matrix manages to operate 100% with renewable energy.

By 2050, freight transport will be highly efficient and will have reduced emissions by 20% compared to 2018 emissions.

By 2030, 20% of the train fleet operates with LPG.

In 2050, 95% of the fleet - will be zero emissions.

In 2035, 30% of the light vehicle fleet - private and institutional - will be electric.

By 2050, Compact Cities will have been consolidated in the main urban areas of the GAM and the main secondary cities in the country, with a 10% increase in trips in non-motorized modes.

In 2050, 85% of the public transport fleet will be zero emissions.

In 2035, 30% of the public transport fleet will be zero emissions and the Passenger Electric Train will operate 100% electric.

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In December 2024, the plaintiff filed an Amparo Lawsuit before the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Costa Rica, alleging that the Executive Branch and the National Environmental Technical Secretariat (SETENA) have omitted to include the evaluation of climate impacts in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) procedures.

The plaintiff argued that Executive Decree 43898-MINAE-S-MOPT-MAG-MEIC of December 21, 2022, which regulates environmental assessment in the country, is unconstitutional because it does not include the obligation to assess the climate risks and climate impacts of proposed projects, nor does it establish climate change mitigation or adaptation measures.

The main argument is that this omission violates the right of present and future generations to a safe climate within the right to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment, which is incompatible with international standards and commitments, such as the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC. The plaintiff requested the Court to order the State to include climate change in the EIA and review projects in process under this new criterion.

The Constitutional Chamber admitted the lawsuit and ordered the Minister of the Presidency, the Minister of Environment and Energy, and the Secretary General of SETENA to submit a report on the alleged facts. The decision is pending.

On September 21, 2023, the Strategic Committee for Youth Participation and Advocacy submitted a request for information to the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) regarding Costa Rica’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). After almost three months without a response from MINAE, the young people filed an Amparo before the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Costa Rica. 

The plaintiff’s main arguments are that the State violated the right of access to public information on environmental matters by reserving information related to the baseline - of the NDC and the lack of transparency regarding eight thematic areas: mobility and transportation, development and land use planning, energy, forests, and terrestrial biodiversity, oceans and water resources, action for climate empowerment, finance and policies, and climate change strategies.

The plaintiffs won, and the Court ordered the Ministry of Environment and Energy to prepare a document with the requested information. However, the plaintiffs considered the document incomplete and lacking transparency. They were dissatisfied with the information provided due to the omission of transcendental issues previously raised. After a detailed analysis of official documents, it was estimated that the implementation of the NDCs is only 2%, failing to observe the Right to Environmental Information established in the Escazu Agreement.

The Strategic Committee for Youth Participation and Advocacy is currently evaluating the possibility of continuing with the litigation to make this incidence visible, since according to the Biennial Transparency Report (which is a basic document on transparency of environmental information in terms of the Paris Agreement) the three fundamental pillars on which it is based - mitigation, progress in the NDCs and adaptation - remain unfulfilled in the country.

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Costa Rica

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