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Carbon Neutral Program 2.0

It is a public initiative that allows increasing the number of carbon-neutral companies in Costa Rica and the business sector by reducing their carbon footprint

Carbon Neutral Program 2.0

This program was launched in a first version, Carbon Neutrality Program 1.0, by the Ministry of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica and during the administration of the president of the republic Laura Chinchilla. Initially, this project was ambitious, intending to make Costa Rica to one of the first carbon-neutral countries of the world, proposed for the year 2021.

Over time, meeting this goal has become very ambitious and risky, though it achieved the objective of arousing interest in several public and private companies, who will adopt internal practices in their companies to measure, decrease and compensate for its ecological footprint. Right now there are 139 active companies, which have been certified in one of the different categories of the program: Carbon Inventory, Carbon Reduction, Carbon Reduction Plus, Carbon Neutrality and Carbon Neutrality Plus.

On 28th September 2019, the government announced the Country Program Carbon Neutrality 2.0, a proposal that corrects and refines the initial version PCN 1.0, indicating that the goal will be achieved in 2100.

Therefore, the country will have to report on the progress towards carbon neutrality for the years 2030, 2050 and finally 2100. For this, the government of the president Carlos Alvarado presented on 24th of February 2019 the Decarbonisation Plan of Costa Rica for 2050. In the following are some points of the plan:


1) Establish an electric public transportation system (buses, trains).

2) Progressively transform the country’s vehicle fleet from fossil combustion cars to zero-emission vehicles.

3) Reduce the environmental impact of freight transport in the country, favouring the adoption of energy-efficient technologies and low-carbon vehicles.

4) Consolidate a national electricity system capable of supplying and managing renewable energy at a competitive cost for users. Improve the efficient management of customers and territories by digitizing institutional and commercial processes.

5) Develop buildings for commercial, residential and institutional use with high efficiency and low emission standards.

6) Modernize the industrial sector through the application of electrical, sustainable and more efficient processes.

7) Develop an integrated waste management system based on separation, reuse, revaluation and final disposal of maximum efficiency and low emissions.

8) Help the adoption of efficient and low-carbon food technologies, that generated export goods as well as for the local consume.

9) Consolidate livestock models based on productive efficiency and the reduction of greenhouse gases.

10) Consolidation of a model for rural, urban and coastal territories that facilitates the protection of the biodiversity, the increase and maintenance of the forest coverage and eco-systemic services using nature-based solutions.


Every company can join the program and be verified to obtain the Carbon Neutral Country Brand. This program has a validity period of one year and is voluntary.

At the moment we are confronting the consequences of climate change. This is the moment for companies and society to take actions to correct this problem.

Costa Rica has been a pioneering county in environmental issues, this is the time to begin to migrate gradually from the current economic styles to more environmentally friendly businesses.

We are the generation that has the responsibility to make a change if we want to improve the life quality of the citizens, and this process has to be sustainable over time.

Jennifer Castro CST Coordinator.

Climate Change Videos

We share the following videos on Climate Change in Costa Rica, taken from the website of the Direction of Climate Change of Costa Rica (in Spanish):

For more info click here

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