ENVIRONMENT: Panama trails in move to electric road transport

Panama is lagging in converting to electric vehicles with only two electric buses, and with a million vehicles on the road just 200  in the hybrids or electric category.

 A Bloomberg report names Costa Rica as the third country in the region with more electric vehicles, after Colombia and Mexico.

 Panama has an electric mobility strategy reports La Prensa. but it must pass legislation that encourages the use of electric cars instead of combustion. A multisectoral committee has been formed to speed up electrification.

“One of the tasks is to work on a draft tax and non-fiscal incentives law,” said Energy Secretary Jorge Rivera Staff. It also seeks to involve banks to finance electric vehicles with state incentives.