Good news for ethically-minded travelers. Costa Rica has been powering itself entirely on renewable energy for 75 days in a row. They have been moving towards this goal for a while now. In 2014, the country got 80 percent of its power from hydroelectric sources. But they had to cover the remaining power needs with traditional fossil fuels. In 2015, however they have been able to rely entirely on clean energy sources so far.
This is important for the small country because tourism brings them more money than their three most exported goods combined. This is in large part due to their commitment to environmental policies. Making the top lists as one of the healthiest places to live (International Living), Costa Rica has a large number of spacious and beautiful national parks. In fact, in the 2014 Global Green Economy Index it was ranked third. Only lower than Sweden and Norway. Two countries that are globally renowned for their commitment to renewable energy. Also two countries that don’t have nearly as many warm and sunny beaches as Costa Rica.
The Costa Rican government is not ready to rest on their laurels either. They recently started a new push to install geothermal power plants that would take advantage of the countries gorgeous and plentiful volcanoes. This is good news for Costa Ricans and tourists alike as it is making energy costs lower and lower.
The main contributor to Costa Rica’s power supply this year has been hydroelectric. They have had large amounts of rain and so far expect to see similar amounts in the coming months. The question remains of whether or not they will be able to maintain their stellar renewable energy production if the rains slow down but hopefully their other initiatives will make up for that eventuality.
At a time when so many of the most famous tourist destinations are shirking their responsibility to the environment it can be tough to know where to spend your money. But it turns out there is one little South American country setting a great example for the world. So if you care about spending your tourism money ethically, maybe a beach getaway in Costa Rica should be next on your itinerary.
