Costa Rica and New
Zealand on Path to
Carbon Neutrality
While some of the
world's largest emitters
of greenhouse gases (GHGs)
hem and haw about how
to--or even if to--limit
their contributions to
climate change, at least
two small countries are
blazing trails for the
world to follow. Both
Costa Rica and New
Zealand have declared
over the past several
months their intentions
to become carbon
neutral. Together, they
accounted for about 0.15
percent of the world's
carbon dioxide emissions
in 2005, according to
the World Bank.
In May 2007, Costa
Rica's government
announced it was drawing
up plans to reduce net
GHG emissions to zero
before 2030. The country
aims to reduce emissions
from transport, farming,
and industry, and to
clean up its fossil fuel
power plants, which
account for 4 percent of
the country's
electricity (of the
rest, 78 percent comes
from hydropower and 18
percent from wind and
geothermal power). In
addition, through an
innovative program begun
in 1997 and funded by a
gas tax, the government
compensates landowners
for growing trees to
absorb carbon while
protecting watersheds
and wildlife habitat.
Costa Rica aims to be
the first country to
become carbon neutral.
But Costa Rica could be
in a race with New
Zealand, which last
month set the target of
becoming "the first
truly sustainable nation
on earth." Prime
Minister Helen Clark
announced in a speech on
September 20 that her
country will adopt an
economy-wide program to
reduce all GHG
emissions, with
different economic
sectors being gradually
introduced into a
national emissions
trading program that
should be in effect
fully by 2013. Other
commitments include an
increase in renewable
electricity to 90
percent by 2025 (up from
70 percent today), a
major net increase in
forest area, widespread
introduction of electric
vehicles, and a 50
percent reduction in
transport-related
emissions by 2040.
These two nations
represent only a small
share of the world's
emissions. But as New
Zealand's Clark said
last month, "We are
neither an economic
giant nor a global
superpower.... If we
want to influence other
countries and the
responses they take in
coming years and
decades, then we must
take action ourselves.
Taking action is not
only the right thing to
do, it is the smart
thing to do."
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