Costa Rica is Not 100% Renewable
Pet Peeves In Zero Carbon Reporting
My friends, we are never going to get to zero carbon if you can’t tell the difference between 30% and 100%.
You’ve read the headlines. Here’s one on Medium. Here’s one on Science Alert. They say things like, “Costa Rica has just run on 100 percent renewable energy for 300 days.”
The stories are served up all over the internet with images like this:
What’s Wrong With This Headline?
100% renewable energy for 300 days? Not true. If you read the articles, you eventually get to the actual story. And it’s different. As Monica Araya of Costa Rica explained in her TED talk:
Did you know that last year, for 299 days, we did not use any fossil fuels in order to generate all our electricity? It’s a fantastic achievement, and yet, it hides a paradox, which is that nearly 70 percent of all our energy consumption is oil.
That’s not a “paradox”. It’s a misleading reporting error. Sometimes a definition error. People confuse “electricity” (part of the energy portfolio) with “energy” (the whole energy portfolio).
Costa Rica has run on 100 percent renewable ELECTRICITY for 300 days. Electricity is 30% of their total ENERGY use. The other 70% of the energy is…
…fossil fuels.
30% of 100% of the energy you use is…30%.
Not 100%.
Pretty straightforward.
To avoid the “paradox”; to be accurate; you could say: “Costa Rica runs on 30% renewable energy.”
“But Wait!” You May Be Saying…
“First of all, 30% is not a sexy headline. Second — don’t impugn my integrity as a Costa Rica energy reporter. So, OK, whoops. It’s not 100% renewable ENERGY, but it is 100% renewable ELECTRICITY! How about I just change the headline to ‘Costa Rica Has Run On 100% Renewable Electricity For The Last 300 Days’ and we call it even?”
Well, that does make it technically accurate. But still misleading. Most people don’t realize electricity is only 30% of energy use in most places. If you say “100%” — they’ll think, “great! Costa Rica is at zero! Our work here is done”. And they will go about their merry way. This is how the fossils (“paradoxically”) disappear.
And you can’t solve a problem you can’t see.
And then there’s the whole “renewable” thing.
The way most people use the word “renewable” is misleading. Like those pictures.
What’s Wrong With The Pictures?
The pictures that accompany the Costa Rica articles show solar panels and wind turbines. This reinforces the idea most people have that “renewable energy” means “wind and solar.”
The fact is, 78% of Costa Rica’s renewable energy is hydro power. Dam! 10% is geothermal, 10% wind, and 2% other.
So the pictures should be 78% dams…
Then 10% wind and 10% geothermal:
And remember, this is 10% of 30% of the energy used in Costa Rica, so wind and geothermal are each actually 3% of the energy.
Did you catch that?
Only 3% of the energy in Costa Rica comes from wind.
Three. Percent.
The Number You Need to Anchor
Costa Rica’s energy supply is 30% decarbonized. That’s the number you need to anchor in everyone’s head. 30% decarbonized. 23% hydro, 3% wind, 3% geothermal. That’s where Costa Rica is at.
30% decarbonized. 70% to go. Plus agriculture and stuff.
That’s it.
Any other story is marketing.
You don’t say a football player scored “100% of a touchdown for 30 yards.” You say the team is at the 30 yard line.
And you don’t give credit for gaining those yards to one runner, when it was a different runner who ran the ball. Although, of course, whoever threw and caught the pass, ran and kicked, the whole team wins and was part of it in some way. #CoordinatedEffort #TeamWork
The point is, how can you win a football game if you don’t know where you are on the field or which players are gaining the most yards? Likewise, how can you win the race to zero carbon if you don’t know how decarbonized you are, how far you have to go to make it to zero and how far each solution can take you?
You don’t say a football player scored “100% of a touchdown for 30 yards.” You say the team is at the 30 yard line.
The “Zero Carbon” Distinction
There is an implicit bias that comes into play when you report things in terms of “100% Renewables”. Most news articles are written to fit into a “100% renewable energy or bust” narrative. That narrative is basically, “In order to save the planet, we need to switch to 100% renewable energy, which mostly consists of wind and solar power. This is the solution, and the only thing standing in the way is political will.”
Reporting on Costa Rica is designed to support this narrative. “See! Costa Rica can switch to 100% renewables, so can you.” Never mind that Costa Rica is not 100% renewable, only 30%. And never mind that of that 30% it’s mostly hydro and geothermal power which you may or may not have in abundance in your country.
Those details muddy the dominant narrative and so they are pushed down to the bottom of the article, if mentioned at all.
Now you may be thinking, “So what if the Costa Rica story doesn’t fit the 100% renewable narrative. We have no choice. You just said it. We have to switch to 100% renewable energy or we’re doomed. It may be technically misleading…but we have to put it this way, if only to motivate people, to inspire them to strive for 100% renewables. And what’s the harm in packaging this as a feel-good 100% renewables news story? We need some good news, don’t we?”
The only good news is accurate news.
Accuracy brings clarity, and clarity supports good decisions.
To be accurate, our problem is not, “we have to switch to 100% renewable energy.”
Our problem is that we have pumped excess green house gases into the atmosphere (Carbon Dioxide plus other gases, all of it called “Carbon” for short). This excess Carbon is causing our planet to overheat, putting all our dreams and lives at risk. We need to stop emitting any more gases (get to “zero carbon” emissions) and even go beyond (pull excess carbon out of the sky).
The goal, then, is to get to “Zero Carbon” — to “de-carbonize” the economy, one way or another.
Renewable energy is one way to do that. It’s not the only way. Before restricting yourself to 100% renewables, find out more about what is involved in going all the way and what the alternatives are.
Advantage of a “Zero Carbon” Focus
When you focus on “zero carbon” & “decarbonization” — you open up a world of options. And you see things more clearly. You see where Costa Rica is at more clearly; you see their challenges and your own in a more practical light.
Less posturing. More practical strategy.
And we need all the practical strategy we can get right now.
We are facing a planet-wide life and death situation. We are on the brink of climate catastrophe. We need everyone to be fully conscious and alert. We need the most accurate information possible to assist us in making decisions that will save us.
So, let’s try that again.
The Costa Rica Energy Story, From the Top
Start with an accurate headline:
“Costa Rica Has A Hydro and Geothermal Advantage Other Countries Don’t; Even So, It Is Only 30% Decarbonized.”
Wait, that was discouraging. Try:
Costa Rica Leverages Hydro and Geothermal Advantage to Achieve 30% Decarbonization. Now Tackling Transportation Sector.
There! That’s accurate and puts things in an upbeat context. It shows Costa Ricans have an advantage, and are resourceful enough to use it. It shows how far they’ve come in the Race to Zero Carbon (30% — so you can clearly see they have 70% to go . The 70% is no longer “paradoxically(!)” hidden). And it shows the specific challenge ahead (transportation sector).
Now that’s a headline you can coach the Race to Zero Carbon by!
This is not a trivial matter. The headline is super important because…
Most People Only Read The Headlines.
Most Americans, at any rate. Studies have shown. (Hey! Did you actually read this far? Five claps to you!)
If you aren’t telling the reader what they need to know in the headline, you are failing them. (Or maybe that’s your job. They say the news industry is trapped inside a business model which incentivizes them to run misleading headlines as “clickbait.” Sigh.)
Zero Carbon Reporting 101
For those folks who want to report things in a way that gives maximum useful perspective, here’s what you do:
Use an accurate headline.
Then use a sports angle for the story.
Report climate progress and metrics like you would report on a game— the game being the “Race to Zero Carbon”. Keep the scoreboard in mind. Get a few key stats right up front before jumping into the commentary.
The key stats for Costa Rica would be:
- Population: 4.9 million — half the population of New Jersey.
- Quality of Life: Ranks High on Human Development Index.
- Emissions per person: 1.6 Metric Tons Per Person (that’s 1/10th of the USA. We are 16.5 on average) That means they don’t use much energy to get that great quality of life! That’s something to look into. This is where everyone buries the lede. How is Costa Rica giving citizens such a nice quality of life with so little energy?
- Energy Supply: 30% Electricity comprised of: 78% Hydro, 10% Geothermal, 10% Wind, 2% whatever. 70, 70% Fossils for transport and such.
- Weather Advantage: Yes, super nice weather, year round! Hardly need any heating, maybe some AC.
- Cars per 1000 People: 287. US is about 910 cars per 1000 people. Need a walkability/public transit index, and average vehicle miles/commute info.
This information will help readers quickly assess Costa Rica’s advantages and disadvantages compared to their own country. It will show them where they can learn from Costa Rica; where they have something to teach; and what doesn’t apply to them.
Also useful would be some math and maps. Help us answer the question: How far can Costa Rica go with Hydropower, geothermal, wind, solar? They seem to be maxed out on the hydro. What land use impacts will expanding each of these given plays have? How will this affect Costa Rica’s role in rainforest preservation? [FYI, we do a similar breakdown of math & maps, energy supply requirements and land use for New Jersey. You can do the same for Costa Rica. Plug in Costa Rica numbers and map].
If everyone starts reporting climate action this way, it will be super helpful to clarifying the challenges we face and progress we are making. It will be news we can use for effective action.
For the love of planet & people, please start reporting this way.
If you like this story, make sure to clap and share!
If you like this approach, help us identify and recruit the Dream Team to win the Race to Zero Carbon.
To zero carbon and beyond!
