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For the past week and a half, Yale students and Costa Rican professionals have been working around the clock to develop a road map for Costa Rica to achieve its goal of Carbon Neutrality by 2021.  The group of 12 young leaders, composed of Costa Ricans, Yale Grad students, and leading international thinkers – law students, earth scientists, architects, agronomists, entrepreneurs, green energy experts, agronomists, and others – developed a report regarding the feasibility of President Arias’ goal of CO2 neutrality by 2021 (a goal ambitions as it is historic) and came out with a roadmap for achieving that goal.  Currently, with the report finished, they are meeting with decision makers at the highest levels of government, press, and civil society to drive action on this issue.  As an organization, their polymathic diversity (and lack of political affiliation) allows them to contribute to the debate and drive action in a way that heretofore has not been seen in Costa Rica.

With a presidential election coming up in 4 months (they are advising the candidates) and the world meeting in Copenhagen in December to negotiate a new climate change agreement, Costa Rica is at a crossroads with regard to climate change and how this small tropical nation acts will serve as a model for the world.  Costa Rica emits roughly 0.02% of global green house gasses and is under no-obligations as a non-Annex I nation, but the people and leadership of Costa Rica view CO2 neutrality as a moral imperative.  Their exhaustive research and modeling shows, however, technology implementation alone will not make Costa Rica (one of the greenest nations on earth) carbon neutral; behavioral change on a massive scale is required.  Speaking with government officials and presidential candidates, it is apparent that Costa Rica has the political will to implement measures (often quite expensive for a developing nations) that will enable and incentivize this behavioral shift.

The Yale students involved are: Roberto Jimenez, SOM ’09, Lowry Pressly LAW ’11, Yusing Wu SOM ’09, Paul Beaton LAW/FES ’10, and Daniella Aburto FES ’10.

Feel free to contact me at Lowry.Pressly@yale.edu or visit their website www.co2neutral2021.org for more information.

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