In this book, Julia A. Flagg describes how Costa Rica, a small, middle-income country whose greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are negligible globally, has managed to become one of the most active countries in terms of policies aimed at combating climate change through the reduction, offsetting and sequestration of GHG emissions.
Flagg finds several factors that explain Costa Rica's international leadership on environmental issues. First, she remarks that the political class in this Central American country has been more concerned with the common good and the production of ‘public goods’ (p. 33) than with their private interests. She argues that this behaviour dates back to the colonial period and has continued since independence from Spain in 1821. Another relevant factor has to do with liberal and institutional reforms, such as the securing of property rights over land, which allowed small and medium coffee growers to benefit from the coffee boom of the mid-nineteenth century, thus fostering a more egalitarian society.
More recent policies aimed at promoting the common good have focused on protecting biodiversity and promoting environmental sustainability, decarbonisation and carbon sequestration, which Flagg calls ‘altruistic environmentalism’ (p. 91) because all these actions have positive impacts at the national level but also at international level.
It is important to note that not all political agreements and institutional reforms in Costa Rica have been consensual. In many cases there were strong political conflicts, such as the coups d’état of 1870 and 1914, where the coup leaders were initially supported by some of the power groups of the time, especially the most conservative ones. These power conflicts are not described or analysed in the book.
Another argument that Flagg uses to explain Costa Rica's environmental vocation is the formation of a green elite (p. 13). Beginning in Chapter 1 and especially in Chapter 3, she explains the historical background to the formation of this group of people with greater environmental awareness. As the author notes, this group of people tends to have postgraduate degrees from international universities, ‘work[s] in or with government on climate initiatives’, and most of its members ‘do not have vast economic power’ and ‘have moved the needle on climate mitigation policy’ (p. 47). Since the twentieth century, this green elite has developed the country's most important environmental sustainability and decarbonisation policies and actions, including the ‘Peace with Nature Initiative’ (Chapter 6), the carbon neutrality pledge (also Chapter 6), and the decarbonisation plan (Chapter 7). The role of this green elite has transcended Costa Rican borders to become leaders in international forums on environmental sustainability, decarbonisation and climate change adaptation. One of the figures Flagg highlights is Christiana Figueres (p. 139), who, as Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, worked during the negotiation process that successfully culminated in the Paris Agreement in 2015.
At the national level, other policies that I undoubtedly consider to have been crucial in terms of environmental protection for Costa Rica, and which are also mentioned in the book, are the development of the national parks system (p. 52), which began to take shape in the 1970s and was later strengthened in the 1980s and 1990s, and the forestry law of 1996 (p. 89). This is one of the most important points highlighted by Flagg; it has allowed Costa Rica to develop a robust system for the protection of forests and biodiversity. This law allowed for the consolidation of the ‘Payments for Environmental Services’ programme (p. 90) and provided the Fondo Nacional de Financiamiento Forestal (FONAFIFO) with funds to pay people who protect the forest on their land. This policy was designed to reverse deforestation processes by financially recognising the environmental services provided by forests, and has also helped Costa Rica strengthen ecotourism and protect biodiversity and watersheds, among other positive impacts.
Other important action carried out in Costa Rica to reduce GHG emissions is public investment in electricity generation, which also contributes to ensuring an autonomous energy production that is not dependent on oil derivatives. ‘Most of this electricity comes from hydropower plants’ (p. 182) mainly operated by a public company.
However, Flagg also points out some environmental contradictions to which the political class has laid itself open. The main one is a decree declaring in the ‘public interest’ (p. 123) the exploitation of an open-pit mine called Crucitas, located on the northern border of the country. According to the book, the decree was signed by the Minister of Environment and the President in office at that time (p. 123). Other contradictions not developed in detail by Flagg have to do with the practice of fishing sharks and cutting off their fins for export, and the lack of an efficient public transportation system which favours the excessive use of private vehicles, increasing the generation of GHG emissions.
Finally, in Chapters 6 and 7, Flagg presents a series of challenges that the country's policies and institutions must address to consolidate the decarbonisation process. These challenges include managing the major sources of GHG emissions, such as waste, transportation, industry, agriculture and livestock. Another challenge facing the country is ‘climate adaptation’. Adaptation policies should aim to reduce the impacts of climate change on population, infrastructure and production, and will be central to maintaining Costa Rica's status as a prime destination for foreign ecotourists (p. 180).
Summing up, the book provides a historical and sociological overview of environmental sustainability policies focused on the reduction, capture, offsetting and mitigation of greenhouse gases. It highlights the role of the political elite and the green elite in designing innovative policies that have allowed Costa Rica to become a global leader in this field.
