Costa Rica wants to ban oil and gas production forever

The Parliament of Costa Rica will discuss a bill on an indefinite ban on the exploration and production of fossil fuels, Oil and Capital reports. This decision was already made in the country in 2002 for a period of 12 years, then it was extended until 2050, and now the administration of President Carlos Alvarado wants to put the last point on the oil and gas topic.

The main motivation for Costa Rica is to plan for the development of eco-tourism - the country has already announced its readiness to achieve full decarbonization by the middle of the century.

Costa Rican authorities believe they can offer a global model for climate change initiatives. Already, the country receives 99% of its electricity from renewable sources, primarily hydropower. The main proponent of this idea is Christiana Figueres, a former member of the Costa Rican government, one of the authors of the Paris Climate Agreement.

However, there are opponents to the idea of completely banning the development of fossil fuels in the country. Some Costa Rican politicians believe that the search for hydrocarbon resources could help overcome the consequences of the coronavirus crisis - last year the Central American country's GDP fell by 8.7%. The final decision in the discussion is expected to take place in mid-autumn.