Varela promises UN a greener Panama

PANAMA will be building modern facilities to handle its solid waste, and eliminating open landfills.
The plan was revealed by President Juan Carlos Varela, speaking in New York at a UN conference on climate change on Tuesday, April 23.
Varela also referred to the Panama Canal as “one of the most environmentally-friendly transport routes on the planet, reducing navigation times and avoiding the unnecessary production of greenhouse gas emissions.
“With its enlargement, Panama will continue reducing emissions from the maritime sector after its launch in 2016,” he said.
Varela acknowledged that Panama – like other countries – is affected by climate change in agricultural production and the generation of hydroelectric power, as well as the damage caused by flooding.
Faced with this situation, he pledged to establish policies for sustainable development, watershed restoration, disaster management and biodiversity protection. He listed a series of actions that will be implemented as part of his “Sustainable Panama” program, which includes the expansion of green energy projects.
The UN is planning a summit in 2015 in Paris with the goal of establishing strict regulations that will go into effect in 2020. The last major environmental summit, held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2009, was considered an international failure due to the lack of consensus and commitments of states that generate the most pollution.
Varela attendeda dinner on Tuesday evening evening hosted by President Barack Obama. On Thursday he will deliver a speech to the UN General Assembly.