Costa Rica's Constitutional Court ordered the National Environmental Technical Secretariat (Setena) to incorporate, within 18 months, the analysis of climate impacts —as well as adaptation and mitigation actions— into the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures for activities, works and projects.
The ruling responds to an appeal filed by a lawyer and professor of environmental law in which it was argued that there was a violation of the right of present and future generations to enjoy a safe climate as part of the right to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment.
According to the plaintiff, the Environmental Assessment, Control, and Monitoring Regulations (2022) do not include the obligation to assess climate risks and impacts within the EIA procedures. Furthermore, SETENA (the National Environmental Technical Secretariat) has not issued guidelines, agreements, or administrative resolutions to evaluate activities, works, or projects that generate climate risks and impacts. This omission means that the climate variable is not directly assessed and that mitigation or adaptation measures are not required of project developers.
The appeal cites obligations assumed by Costa Rica in international instruments such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement and the Central American Convention on Climate Change; in addition to jurisprudence from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the Constitutional Chamber itself.
Learn more here .
Costa Rica's Constitutional Court ordered the National Environmental Technical Secretariat (Setena) to incorporate, within 18 months, the analysis of climate impacts —as well as adaptation and mitigation actions— into the environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures for activities, works and projects.
The ruling responds to an appeal filed by a lawyer and professor of environmental law in which it was argued that there was a violation of the right of present and future generations to enjoy a safe climate as part of the right to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment.
According to the plaintiff, the Environmental Assessment, Control, and Monitoring Regulations (2022) do not include the obligation to assess climate risks and impacts within the EIA procedures. Furthermore, SETENA (the National Environmental Technical Secretariat) has not issued guidelines, agreements, or administrative resolutions to evaluate activities, works, or projects that generate climate risks and impacts. This omission means that the climate variable is not directly assessed and that mitigation or adaptation measures are not required of project developers.
The appeal cites obligations assumed by Costa Rica in international instruments such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement and the Central American Convention on Climate Change; in addition to jurisprudence from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the Constitutional Chamber itself.
Learn more here .