Costa Rica

Last updated: December 2024

The country is one of the priority countries with which the International Climate Initiative (IKI) maintains a particularly close cooperation.

Costa Rica is one of the so-called megadiverse countries: This small Central American country with its Pacific and Atlantic coasts and a number of volcanoes harbours a multitude of different ecosystems and an immense variety of species.

Costa Rica has formulated ambitious targets for becoming a resilient, integrative and carbon-neutral country. It has been determined in the National Decarbonisation Plan 2018 to 2050 that the country will strive to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. According to the Climate Action Tracker, this is “very close, but still just above the 1.5 degree Celsius compatibility”. The current Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) of 2020 is more ambitious and specific than the previous NDCs, not only in terms of mitigation, but also with regards to adaptation (2030 target: maximum 9.11 million tonnes CO₂eq, ambition raising: three percent). The Central American country is also considered a pioneer in climate action - more than 98 percent of its energy is obtained from renewable energy sources.

The National Biodiversity Strategy and the associated Action Plan 2016 to 2025 form the framework for the conservation of Costa Rica's biodiversity and for its sustainable and just utilisation.

The National Adaptation Plan 2022 to 2026 represents the legal basis for the adaptation component of the NDC Update 2020.

In 2022, a law on the promotion and implementation of a green hydrogen economy was passed.

Together with France, Costa Rica leads the High Ambition Coalition (30 by 30). One of the objectives pursued is to place 30 percent of the terrestrial and marine area under conservation by 2030.
The IKI forms an important framework for the cooperation between Costa Rica and Germany in the area of climate action and biodiversity conservation.

In 2019, a country call with Costa Rica took place for the first time. The funding priorities were climate change mitigation in the agricultural sector and the adaptation of marine ecosystems to climate change; they are part of the IKI project TRANSFORMA.

In 2019 and 2020, Costa Rica co-chaired the NDC Partnership; it is also a partner country in the NDC Support Programme and the NDC Action Programme, which are both funded by the IKI.

With the support of the IKI Support Project for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (SPA), Costa Rica has updated and expanded the NDC in the area of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) as part of the Climate Action Enhancement Package (CAEP).

As part of the National Biodiversity Policy 2015 to 2030 (NBP), the Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan were updated with the support of the IKI project BIOFIN.

Interface project

Most priority countries of the IKI also engage in so-called IKI interface projects, which have permanent project offices in the capital city of the respective country. Alongside their own, country-specific project commission, these interface projects are also tasked with maintaining close contact to environment and climate ministries as well as networking with other relevant ministries in the field of climate and biodiversity policy. Beyond this, the interface projects also work to network all of the IKI projects in the country and region together so as to promote synergies.

In Costa Rica, the interface function is currently represented by the project ACCION Clima III - NDC implementation Costa Rica and regional knowledge exchange.

Project priorities

Climate governance: Empowerment of relevant actors to pass integrated climate action policies and strategies;
Implementation of ambitious climate action projects;
Strengthening of the role and involvement of civil society (especially adolescents) in climate dialogue and political decision-making and formulation processes;
Climate finance: development of financing modalities with the private sector, insurance companies and banks, promotion of foreign direct investment in activities with high mitigation potential, promotion of start-ups;
Local climate action and involvement of the private sector: strengthening of the cooperation between municipalities and economy for the development and implementation of climate change mitigation measures;
Regional NDC Hub: Transfer of innovative approaches for the implementation of climate targets from Costa Rica to the Caribbean region;
Function as an IKI interface: Promotion of dialogue on climate and biodiversity between the IKI projects in the region as well as between other actors (networking opportunities and knowledge management).

Project contact

iki.interfaz.cac(at)giz.de

Newsletter

IKI Central America and Caribean: website of all IKI projects in the region

ACCION Clima III - NDC implementation Costa Rica and regional knowledge exchange

In a nutshell

Region: Latin America

Population: 5.1 million (World Bank, 2024)

CO₂eq emissions (incl. LUCF): 9.1 million t (ClimateWatch, 2022)

CO₂eq emissions per capita (incl. LUCF): 1.8 t (ClimateWatch, 2022)

Total energy supply (IEA, 2024):

14 % Hydro
24 % Wind, Solar etc.
8 % Biofuels / Waste
55 % Oil
89 % RE in electricity mix (10 % Wind, 1 % PV)

IKI projects in the country (last updated: December 2024):

bilateral: 4 ongoing, 8 completed
regional: 7 ongoing, 9 completed
global: 13 ongoing, 19 completed

ClimateWatch

NDC partnership: country page

IKI partner ministries:

Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE)
Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG)
Ministry of Finance (Hacienda)
National System of Protected Areas (SINAC)

The IKI Strategy

The IKI wants to maximise its impact on climate action and biodiversity conservation. To this end, it concentrates its funding activities on prioritised fields of action within the four funding areas. Another key element is the close cooperation with selected partner countries, especially with the IKI’s priority countries.

Click here for the IKI Strategy