The EUROCLIMA+ Programme is moving forward in the Country Dialogue with Costa Rica, to jointly define the possibilities for supporting the national priorities defined in the updated NDC.
San José, April 27th - On April 27, a new meeting took place in the framework of the Country Dialogue with Costa Rica, which will be developed in EUROCLIMA+, jointly facilitated by the International and Ibero-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP) y la German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) GmbH. The session has served to start an exchange with the purpose of identifying strategic areas of cooperation between the European Union and Costa Rica under the framework of the programme, based on the needs and priorities of the country itself for the implementation of the NDC, which was updated in December 2020, and the opportunities for climate action in the post-COVID-19 context, with a view towards a green recovery in the country.
The "Country Dialogue" methodology establishes a referential framework for joint work between the EU and the EUROCLIMA+ Programme partner country. In this context, Costa Rica has requested support in several aspects considered priorities for its national climate policies, which are inserted in several of the Programme's strategic lines: Plans and policies, transparency, intersectoral, multilevel and multi-stakeholder coordination; climate financing; climate change awareness and education; and gender and vulnerable groups. The purpose of the meeting was to gain a deeper understanding of the country's needs, and how these needs are embedded in policy reform, design or implementation processes.
During the meeting, the importance of Costa Rica in the Latin American region was pointed out, highlighting its progress in the design and development of climate policies for the fulfilment of its national objectives, reflected in its updated NDC presented in 2020, which includes mitigation and adaptation targets, incorporating the just transition approach and the identification of vulnerable populations, and aligned with its National Decarbonisation Plan.
On behalf of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Patricia Campos and Felipe de León presented the updated NDC of Costa Rica, conceived as a development instrument and an overview of the country's transformation. Through this plan, it is proposed to demonstrate the possibility of a fair, adapted and resilient decarbonisation as a pathway to economic reactivation in the short term, and to provide general well-being in the medium and long term. It also stresses the importance of raising adaptation to the same level as mitigation, in the spirit of the Paris Agreement, by developing social, economic and environmental resilience to the effects of climate change.
In this context, Costa Rica has proposed the construction of accompaniment itineraries with EC+ in the fields of adaptation, action for climate empowerment and private sector participation. To this end, meetings to deepen and structure the demand will be held in the coming weeks.
About EUROCLIMA+
EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union to promote environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient development in 18 Latin American countries, particularly for the benefit of the most vulnerable populations. The Programme is implemented under the synergistic work of seven agencies: the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), the French Development Agency (AFD), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), Expertise France (EF), the International and Ibero-America Foundation for Administration and Public Policy (FIIAPP), and UN Environment.