Overview

The livestock sector in Costa Rica plays a significant role in the economy and food supply, but it also has a significant impact on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In 2017, the Agriculture, Livestock, Afforestation and other Land Use (AFOLU) sector was responsible for 20.5 percent of national emissions, with 62 percent attributable to methane (CH₄) produced by enteric fermentation of ruminants. However, in recent years, the Costa Rican government has implemented various initiatives and policies to improve sustainability and reduce GHG emissions in the sector.

One of the key initiatives is the Strategy for the Development of Low-Carbon Livestock (EDGBC), which was introduced in 2015, and Costa Rica's most recent Sustainable Livestock Policy was implemented in 2022. These policies have been instrumental in guiding the livestock sector towards greater productivity and profitability, while reducing GHG emissions per unit of animal product. Soil carbon sequestration has also been promoted, and efforts have been made to improve the sector's resilience to climate variability. Costa Rica signed the Paris Agreement and presented its NDC committing to significantly improve the metric to quantify the emissions and removals in the AFOLU sector by deriving verifiable information through the Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), the Low Emission Development (LED) Strategy and the National Strategy for the Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation (REDD+).