Arias’s Meeting with Brazilian President Lula will Bring Biofuels to Costa Rica.

Thirty years after a Brazil-Costa Rican biofuel partnership was interrupted, President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva — commonly referred to as Lula — has pledged technical and technological help for Costa Rica’s biofuel program. Famous for its reliance on ethanol and biofuels, Brazil has promised to send Edison Lobao, Minister of Energy and Mining, to evaluate and develop Costa Rica’s bio-combustible options.

After a meeting between Costa Rican President Óscar Arias Sánchez and President Lula da Silva in Brasilia, Lula announced the partnership. The two leaders signed ten agreements yesterday, which promise that Brazil will provide the technical help that was promised, but never ratified, more than ten years ago.

Brazil plans to train Costa Ricans in certain farming and agricultural processes to increase cassava and mamón fruit production, which in turn will be used to produce clean fuels. All help will be provided by the Brazilian Company for the Production of Biofuels (Embrapa), a company developed by the Brazilian government and dedicated to agricultural research. Lula da Silva assured that, with Embrapa’s help, Costa Rica is in possession of all necessary resources to begin the “biofuels revolution in Central America.”

President Arias also added that Brazil is currently building very small plants with very advanced technology. “The idea is to produce biofuels with a sugar cane base. In the northern and southern zones [of Costa Rica], one could provide great benefits to small farmers with the installation of these plants,” Arias added. Indeed, Costa Rica has many sugar cane farmers, and turning such an abundant natural resource into biofuel would greatly benefit the country.

In addition to sending its Minister of Energy and Mining and Embrapa representatives, President Lula also promised his own official visit in 2009. “My friend Oscar [Arias] invited me to Costa Rica, and I have him my word that at the end of January or beginning of February, I will go to see his country for the first time,” detailed Lula at a press conference.

This Brazil-Costa Rica biofuel agreement marks an important event for the region, as Costa Rica will be the first Central American nation to develop biofuels on a large scale. Although Costa Rica has not yet developed biofuels, it has been a regional leader in developing earth-friendly, energy-saving programs. In fact, Franklin Chang, Costa Rica’s famous astronaut, is developing a program that will convert the nation’s trash into plasma energy, eliminating the country’s reliance on crude oil to create electricity.

In addition to Chang’s efforts, Costa Rica is famous for its environmental policies and desire to treat the environment with care. In Tamarindo, a local group volunteers to collect recyclable trash; Dos Pinos plans to recycle its popular tetra brik containers; Recyplast takes every detailed step to recycle the plastic used to cover banana plants.

With such innovative, earth-friendly policies, Costa Rica was the perfect choice for a Central American biofuel developer, adding to its reputation as a regional innovator and leader. This latest announcement couldn’t have come at a better time, however, as the cost of gas rises, making Costa Rica Travel, both public and private, more expensive everyday.

This post's rating:

Related Stories

Filed under: Costa Rica News on July 31st, 2008