Speaking at the United Nations Climate Summit (COP25) in Madrid, President Danilo Medina said that the Dominican Republic is looking to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% before 2030, using as a starting point the data registered in 2010.
During his speech, Medina highlighted: “Renewable energies are also our priority. That is why we are installing 604 megawatts of solar and wind power, equivalent to 25% of the country’s energy matrix; and our goal is to reach 32% by 2023.”
He said that the country would use its own funds, together with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank, to reforest more than 767,000 tareas (1 tarea = 629 square meters) of land, which would allow the water basins of the rivers to recover.
As part of his participation at the Summit, President Medina was accompanied by Gustavo Montalvo, Minister of the Presidency; José Ramón Peralta, Administrative Minister of the Presidency; Ángel Estévez, Minister of the Environment ; Félix Nova, senator for Monseñor Nouel; Olivo Rodríguez Huertas, Dominican Ambassador in Spain.; and Evérgito Peña Acosta, executive vice president of the National Council for Climate Change.
During his speech, Medina did not mention the coal-fired Punta Catalina Thermoelectric Power Central, estimated to cost over US$3 billion. The Medina administration took on the construction of the coal-fired power plant at a time when environmentalists criticized investing in coal-fired generation systems because of their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions. The power plant replaced arrangements that had been made for the construction of several smaller natural gas-powered plants by private investment.
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3 December 2019