Guatemala and Costa Rica offer to host the COP25

Andrea Garcia Salinas
Posted by Andrea Garcia Salinas December 2, 2018

[vc_row type=”in_container” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″][vc_column column_padding=”padding-9-percent” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]The UN Climate Talks COP24 just kicked off today in Katowice, Poland, with discussions on which Latin American country could host the next UN Climate Talks, after Brazil decided they will no longer host the COP25. At the moment, representatives from Guatemala and Costa Rica have stated their interest in hosting the COP25. 

Last Wednesday, Brazil announced the country backed out of their decision to host the next COP25 – only two months after i being confirmed confirming – arguing budget constraints and the ongoing presidential transition process. Recently elected president Jair Bolsonaro had promised during his campaign to pull Brazil out of the Paris Agreement which angers the climate community due to the key role of the Amazon to mitigate climate change.

On Friday, two days before the start of COP24 in Poland, Guatemala announced their interest in hosting the next UN climate talks with a statement that came from the Ministry of Environment of the country.

 

#Guatemala is running to organize the Annual Conference of the Parties (COP-25) in 2019. We are the 1st. country of the world to launch its official proposal to host the global environmental event of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The country which has never hosted such a large event, would have the infrastructure to do it, declared to AGN Alfonso Alonzo, the Minister of Environment in Guatemala. The country’s statement was quickly supported by Honduras who highlighted the role of Central America in the fight against climate change as a region with 4 of the most 10 vulnerable countries to climate change.

Soon after the declaration from Guatemala, the president of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, made a tweet highlighting the country’s commitment to climate action and the interest of the country to host the COP25 in 2019.

 

The fight against climate change calls us today to take a step forward, just like 70 years ago when we abolished our army. Our convictions for a better planet are enormous and for this reason Costa Rica announces its consent as the venue for the climate conference #COP25

Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, Minister of Environment and Energy in Costa Rica, explained to Ojo al Clima that the proposal remains at the initial stage and aspects such as budget have to be evaluated. According to Rodríguez, developing countries that host the UN climate talks finance around 20% of the costs with the other 80% financed by the international cooperation.

In an exclusive interview with LatinClima, Rodríguez confirmed that Costa Rica has not made an official request yet but rather announced their interest in exploring the possibilities of hosting the COP25.

There have been some comments about the intention of Chile to host the climate summit next year – and even about Colombia as a suitable country with strong climate policies. However, no official statements from those countries have been made so far. Either way it seems that the COP25 will stay in Latin America. We’ll keep you updated.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]