Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s Plan Nacional de Descarbonización 2018–2050 (publicly available) provides a whole-of-economy pathway to net-zero by 2050 and is embedded in the country’s updated NDC (2020) and planning instruments. It is widely used as the national transition plan; while some legal underpinnings are sectoral rather than one omnibus statute, the plan is detailed, covers key sectors, and is actively referenced by ministries.

Costa Rica does not have a national strategy mandating inclusive corporate governance practices such as employee representation on boards or gender quotas. Gender equality and social inclusion are promoted mainly through broad development frameworks aligned with the SDGs, including the National Decarbonization Plan and social-equity policies. Corporate governance for private companies is based on voluntary adoption of best practices, and ESG disclosure is not mandatory for issuers or SMEs. No legal framework currently requires SDG-aligned ESG standards or inclusive decision-making in corporate governance.

Costa Rica’s Law 8220 on simplification/procedural rights and the regulatory improvement framework (MEIC) provide channels for public consultation on draft regulations (e.g., consultation portals and notices). Practice is regular but dispersed across entities, and comprehensive, mandatory coverage for all marginalised groups and systematic impact assessments beyond specific areas is not fully standardised.

Costa Rica maintains SEEA-based environmental accounts (water, forests and energy) compiled and published by the Central Bank (BCCR), with methodological notes and new releases in 2024; these are produced annually and positioned as part of the Bank’s thematic accounts program. The work originates in Costa Rica’s participation in the World Bank WAVES initiative and is now institutionalised within BCCR (including an environmental statistics unit). In parallel, the National Planning Ministry (MIDEPLAN) tracks Sustainable Development Goal indicators through the national SDG platform, anchoring “beyond-GDP” monitoring to planning documents such as the National Development and Public Investment Plan (PNDIP). Recent cross-government strategies also task BCCR with developing valuation methods for blue-carbon ecosystem services by 2030, signalling further integration of natural-capital metrics into policy design. There is, however, no evidence of a single, comprehensive national comprehensive wealth framework that consolidates human, social, natural and produced/financial capital into one decision-making dashboard embedded in the budget cycle.

Costa Rica promotes green finance through project-based mechanisms. The Payments for Environmental Services (PES) Program, managed by FONAFIFO and funded through a fuel tax, water charges, and biodiversity certificates, channels resources to support forest conservation, reforestation, and sustainable land use. The country also participates in BIOFIN (Biodiversity Finance Initiative) to mobilize conservation funding. However, there is no national regulation requiring climate-related financial stress testing for banks or financial institutions. Green finance in Costa Rica is implemented through fiscal incentives and targeted programs, not through systemic banking regulation or supervisory requirements.

"Costa Rica has not yet implemented nationwide fiscal or monetary sustainability reviews. However, the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank have collaborated with the UNDP BIOFIN initiative to explore biodiversity-relevant fiscal reforms. The National Development and Public Investment Plan (PNDIP) includes green fiscal commitments, but these remain partially integrated into macroeconomic frameworks. The financial regulator (SUGEF) and the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) have initiated early-stage work on integrating environmental and social risks into financial supervision. No mandatory or regular stress testing system is in place.

Costa Rica has integrated environmental priorities into its trade and production frameworks through the National Policy on Sustainable Production and Consumption (2021), which promotes sustainable goods and services, public procurement standards, and eco-labelling schemes. The country is also a founding member of the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS), an international initiative focused on liberalizing environmental goods and services, phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, and establishing harmonized eco-labelling frameworks.

Costa Rica has implemented a domestic carbon market and a carbon neutrality certification scheme (“C-Neutral”) for private entities, which allows companies to certify emissions reductions through verified offsets. The National Decarbonization Plan 2018–2050 sets sectoral targets across transport, energy, industry, and waste, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050. The Forest Law (Ley Forestal No. 7575) bans deforestation and supports carbon sequestration through the PES program. However, Costa Rica does not operate a national carbon tax or a comprehensive ETS with economy-wide sectoral coverage, and it has not legislated binding carbon budgets aligned to the 1.5°C goal.

"Costa Rica’s National Decarbonization Plan (NDP) outlines long-term strategies for key sectors including energy, transport, agriculture, and forests. The country has enacted policies such as Law 9518 (2018) to promote electric mobility and developed NAMAs (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions) for agriculture (coffee, livestock). Integrated urban planning initiatives like UrbanShift support cross-sector climate actions in waste, water, and infrastructure. However, there is no formal intersectoral body mandated to coordinate green economy planning across ministries.

Costa Rica officially launched its National Circular Economy Strategy (ENEC) in 2023, presenting a long-term vision toward 2050. The strategy is grounded in strong participatory governance and institutional coordination, and includes sector-specific targets for reuse, circular public procurement, innovation hubs, and sustainable business development. It also explicitly addresses informality, the just transition, and capacity building for circular entrepreneurship, particularly in lower-income and rural areas.

The ENEC is directly aligned with the country’s broader decarbonization and biodiversity goals, and contains a monitoring and evaluation system to ensure transparency and accountability. The strategy builds on a long-standing commitment to sustainable development and positions Costa Rica among the regional leaders in circular transition planning.

Costa Rica’s transport transition is guided by its National Decarbonization Plan (2019–2050), which envisions electrification of the transport sector as a pillar of the country’s climate strategy. The government has launched several programs to decarbonize urban mobility, including the TUE-Mobility Project (2025), an internationally funded initiative that supports electric bus deployment and modal integration in the Greater Metropolitan Area. The Ministry of Public Works and Transport also continues implementing long-term infrastructure upgrades under its National Transport Plan 2011–2035.

While electric mobility is advancing through pilot programs, infrastructure expansion, and subsidy mechanisms, Costa Rica has not yet formalized comprehensive 2030 targets for full electrification of private and freight vehicles. Rural mobility and freight decarbonization strategies remain under development, and grid capacity remains a constraint for rapid EV adoption in some regions.

"Costa Rica has maintained a renewable electricity share above 90% for more than a decade, primarily from hydro, wind, and geothermal sources. Recent droughts have led to a modest increase in thermal energy use. The 2022–2040 Generation Expansion Plan includes diversification into solar and wind. The Smart Grid National Strategy 2021–2031 aims to modernize transmission and support clean energy integration. While Costa Rica’s electricity is largely renewable, there is no formal target for 90% of final energy consumption from renewables, and renewable use in transport and heating remains limited.

"Green employment is addressed in Costa Rica’s National Decarbonization Plan, with pilot initiatives launched in tourism, construction, and sustainable manufacturing. While these initiatives support specific sectors, there is no unified national strategy for green job creation or transition planning for carbon-intensive industries. The country's sustainability reputation and ecotourism sector continue to offer job growth opportunities, but current efforts are fragmented and lack national coordination.

Costa Rica’s 2020 NDC set a commitment to establish a governance scheme for just transition and to elaborate a national Just Transition Strategy and a Green Jobs Policy by 2024. Government materials show a “Mesa de Transición Justa,” sector prioritisation, and public-sector training steps, with social-dialogue elements led by environment, labour and social-inclusion ministries. Sectoral initiatives with inclusion aims—e.g., the National Biometane Strategy 2025–2040—seek to generate green jobs and address regional disparities. As of October 2025, however, no stand-alone, adopted national Just Transition framework with tailored sectoral guidance and benefit-sharing mechanisms has been published; the approach remains programmatic and in development.

Costa Rica does not recognize a separate legal form for social enterprises. The government launched the “Semillas de Empresariedad” national strategy (2022–2025) to support MSMEs in vulnerable conditions, coordinated by MEIC, IMAS, and INAMU. The program provides business training, technical assistance, and seed capital up to ₡3,000,000, targeting women and families in poverty. In parallel, sectoral SME policies (p.ej. Estrategia Nacional de Emprendimiento) reference sustainability, but support remains programmatic and not embedded in a legal framework recognizing social enterprises.

"Costa Rica operates a broad social protection system including conditional cash transfers and universal healthcare. The “Bridge to Development” strategy includes environmental and gender components. The country is also recognized for its Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) program, which links land use to financial incentives. However, there is no national strategy that explicitly connects social protection to the green transition, and coordination between social policy and climate adaptation remains in early stages.

Costa Rica operates under a formal National Biodiversity Policy 2015–2030 (Decreto Ejecutivo No. 39118-MINAE) and an NBSAP (2016–2025), with implementation through SINAC and related instruments. Marine protection expanded significantly: Executive Decree No. 43368-MINAE (May 2024) adjusted the management and zoning for Isla del Coco and adjoining seamounts, consolidating earlier expansions and keeping Costa Rica above the 30% marine-area conservation threshold. Conservation actions and SDG 14/15 alignment are reported via MINAE/SINAC and PNDIP sector reporting; blue-carbon and coastal-wetland protection and restoration are now embedded in national strategies. While progress reporting exists, interim target tracking is dispersed across instruments rather than a single, periodic national NBSAP progress assessment.

Costa Rica has developed a Forest Reference Emission Level (FREL) and Forest Reference Level (FRL) under REDD+, submitted to the UNFCCC and technically assessed. These include methodologies for emissions/removals, land-use mapping, and forest carbon stock estimation. The Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) coordinates the National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS) and implements PES as part of carbon accounting. However, Costa Rica has not implemented a comprehensive natural capital accounting system aligned with the UN SEEA framework across all sectors, nor does it have an independent advisory body mandated to integrate natural capital into budgeting or infrastructure planning.

In 2023, Costa Rica launched its Roadmap for Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems (2023–2026), developed in partnership with FAO and coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), the Ministry of Health, and other agencies. The roadmap includes clear actions on sustainable agricultural production, healthy diet promotion, food loss and waste reduction, and climate resilience in agri-food supply chains. It also builds on earlier initiatives such as the Agro-environmental and Carbon Neutrality Agenda, and is monitored through cross-sectoral SDG governance mechanisms.

The roadmap is SDG-aligned (particularly with SDGs 2 and 12), and is complemented by updated national dietary guidelines and strategic partnerships with public institutions, academia, and local producers. It incorporates gender and territory-based approaches, and emphasizes local food systems and biodiversity conservation.

Costa Rica operates long-standing nature-finance instruments at national scale. The Forestry Law and the single fuel tax (Ley 8114) allocate earmarked revenues to FONAFIFO’s Payments for Environmental Services (PES), with specific modalities for Indigenous Territories. In water resources, the environmentally-adjusted canon por aprovechamiento del agua (Decreto Ejecutivo 32868-MINAE) functions as an economic instrument, with a share of collections reinvested in watershed protection. PES statistics and operating manuals document contracts and payments, including in Indigenous Territories; REDD+ and results-based agreements complement domestic funding. These measures illustrate persistent, targeted investment and application of the polluter-pays principle, although broader reform to remove all harmful subsidies across sectors remains partial.

Costa Rica’s economic-stabilisation and recovery toolkit since 2020 has included a World Bank programmatic series of Fiscal and Decarbonization Development Policy Loans (DPLs) that combined crisis response, fiscal sustainability and green-growth measures, followed by operations in 2023–2025 focused on resilient infrastructure and fiscal management with sustainability and employment objectives. The Bank’s 2024 project finances reconstruction of climate-resilient “gray and green” infrastructure (flood control, slope stabilisation, bridges), while the 2025 fiscal-management/green-growth operation supports jobs and sustainability aims. These measures complement the National Decarbonization Plan rather than a large, discrete domestic green-stimulus package; conditionality is present through policy-based lending but not across all support instruments.