By Elishya Perera
LONDON (CU)_COP26 President-Designate Alok Sharma commended Costa Rica’s commitment towards ambitious climate policies, during his two-day visit to the Central American nation.
During his stay, Sharma met with President Carlos Alvarado Quesada, Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Adriana Bolaños Argueta, and Minister of Energy and the Environment Andrea Meza Murillo, and held high-level discussions on opportunities for cooperation on climate change between the United Kingdom and Costa Rica, ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26), which will be hosted by the UK in November.
“I am delighted to have visited Costa Rica this week to see first-hand the action it is taking to fight climate change. It is showing true leadership to slow the pace of climate change and to manage its impacts,” Sharma said.
He added that he hopes the country’s initiatives would encourage other countries to make bold commitments towards climate action, and that he looks forward to Costa Rica joining the United Kingdom at the UK-hosted Climate and Development Ministerial meeting later this month.
The British politician also participated in a meeting with Costa Rica’s Minister of Foreign Trade, Minister of Planning and Economic Policy and Private Sector Liaison Minister, during which they discussed climate financing, as well as the country’s innovative initiatives to tackle climate change.
Apart from government officials, Sharma met with representatives of youth climate activist groups and members of the business community, and held discussions which focused on private sector-led initiatives in low carbon growth, which particularly involves young people in the planning and hosting of COP26.
Moreover, he visited a coffee plantation in the country which has implemented one of the first Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) agricultural projects in the world. The plantation had adapted its production processes in such a manner that they are more climate and disease resistant and respectful of the country’s biodiversity.
COP26 President-Designate’s visit to the Central American nation comes ahead of the Climate and Development Ministerial, which will be hosted by the United Kingdom on 31 March. Costa Rica will be among the countries that will attend the summit which aims to mobilise action to support countries that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Costa Rica, as well as the Latin American and Caribbean region as a whole, are prone to extreme weather events as a result of climate change. Disasters such as hurricanes and droughts are already having devastating effects on the lives and livelihoods of the people in the region.
