Paris Honors Costa Rica For Being Green With a Message on the Eiffel Tower

By Erika Miranda| Dec 02, 2015

Paris honors Costa Rica's impressive steps towards fighting the negative effects of climate change by lighting the Eiffel Tower with the phrase "100% Pura Vida" on Monday night.

According to Tico Times, the amazing scenery in Paris was directed at Costa Rica's achievement for using renewable energy sources in a bid to pursue their goal of becoming the first carbon neutral country in the world.

The outlet noted that nearly 200 leaders from all over the world will convene in Paris this week to try to conjure a plan that would stop the world from entering an era where the unpleasant effects of climate change, like global warming, would become permanent.

During the convention attended by U.S. President, Barrack Obama, and Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, the heads of states tried to look for a common cause and a solution to global warming.

According to Inside Costa Rica, the leaders found out that among the top causes of the worldwide dilemma is the global dependence on fossil fuels.

Scientists and even activists have repeatedly warned of the effects of the abuse of such resources and implored the countries' leaders to make use of renewable energy sources such as solar energy to decrease carbon emissions.

Based on studies by experts cited in the report, the effects of climate change includes high temperatures, more intense typhoons and dry spells, as well as destructive flooding due to the elevated sea level due to the melting of the polar ice caps.

"What should give us hope that this is a turning point, that this is the moment we finally determined we would save our planet, is the fact that our nations share a sense of urgency about this challenge and a growing realization that it is within our power to do something about it," Obama said during the summit.

Because of this, the outlet believes that the Latin American country has made an impressive mark on the journey towards neutral climate.

Monday's Eiffel Tower lighting is proof of Costa Rica's efforts towards ridding the world of the effects of global warming by becoming the first carbon neutral country.

This is in spite of a statement from Presidencia indicating Costa Rica's apparent retreat from its "ambitious" statement of achieving that very goal by 2021.

According to the statement, Costa Rica is now vowing to achieve a carbon neutral economy by 2085, a vow that Tico Times believes is "still a strong" and a "more realistic commitment" than their initial promise.

Currently, Costa Rica runs on 100 percent renewable energy for 255 days and counting, a feat that certainly deserves a bow from the iconic Eiffel Tower, which has been known to be France's best means of expressing their opinion without the use of words.

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