The participation of urban populations is key in fighting climate change

All cities in the world are responsible for 70% of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to the climate crisis that we are currently experiencing. But not only that. According to the World Bank, some 4,200 billion people (55% of the world’s population) live in urban areas, under a series of habits that represent a serious danger to the natural life of the planet.

To supply the lifestyle of urban populations, international trade adopts aggressive resource extraction models. Food, raw materials and energy sources are products that modern societies constantly demand, and that are pushing the planet to the limit of its capacity. That is why we are seeing the population decline of many wild species, from microfauna to species of large mammals and birds, as announced by the United Nations (UN) a few months ago.

That is why the international organization declared that World Habitat Day 2021 focuses on “Accelerating urban action for a carbon-free world”, which means that countries must aim to achieve emissions until reaching neutrality before the year 2050.

Costa Rica and neutrality

Costa Rica bases its economic model on tourism. Photo: Alex Ip / Unsplash

According to current data, more than 500 million people already face problems related to rising sea levels, and the impact of climatic events such as storms and hurricanes has visibly intensified in the last five years. The warming of the oceans has already shown its consequences on the reef systems, which in turn has impacted human commercial activities, affecting the food security of millions of people, particularly in the coastal areas of the planet.

And it is precisely because of these realities that Costa Rica, through its Climate Change Directorate (DCC) of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), promotes the Country Carbon Neutrality Program (PPCN), “a voluntary mechanism that can be accessed organizations, public and private companies, communities and event organizers to report Greenhouse Gas (GHG) inventories ”. Since 2012, more than 200 organizations, 21 municipalities and 2 districts have joined the program.

Not only that, in 2015, the Central American country committed to achieving neutrality by 2021, and is close to becoming the first country in the world to do so. According to the country’s National Center for Energy Management, Costa Rica has used more than 98% of its renewable energy since 2014, and in 2019, 99% of its energy production originated from renewable sources.

67.5% of this renewable energy comes from hydroelectric energy; 17% of wind energy; 13.5% comes from geothermal sources, and biomass and solar panels represent 0.84%. The remaining 1.16% comes from backup plants.

Other actions that are worth highlighting in the Central American country is its commitment to maintaining a wide forest cover within its territory. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), deforestation is responsible for approximately 10% of global warming. However, Costa Rica more than doubled the proportion of forested land from 26% in 1984 to 52% in 2011.

In addition to all this, it is one of the few countries on the planet, where mining and oil exploitation are prohibited. At present, these extractive activities are banned until the year 2050, by means of a presidential decree, but which can be easily revoked through a similar mechanism. That is why several sectors, led by the central government, promote the bill to Eliminate the Use of Fossil Fuels in Costa Rica and Declare the National Territory Free from Oil and Gas Exploration and Exploitation.

“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 declining and reaching their expiration date globally,” said Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and leader of the negotiation of the Paris agreement.

World Animal Day

All the animals on the planet play an important role in the ecological balance on which we all depend, including humans. Photo: Zdenek Machacek / Unsplash

This day is also celebrated on World Animal Day, in commemoration of San Francisco de Asis. The idea of this celebration is to remind the world about the importance of ethical and dignified treatment for all species of animals with which we share the planet.

Although much of the population does not know it, the presence of all wild species is essential to maintain an ecological balance in all the world’s ecosystems, which allows humans to enjoy food, water, forests and a series of ecosystem services that they would not exist without the presence of wildlife.