The UK Minister for Climate, Environment and Energy, Benyon, visited Costa Rica,
alongside high-level delegations from Brazil and Colombia, as
part of the first-ever regional bioeconomy mission funded by the
UK, aimed at fostering collaboration and sharing experiences on
advancing a prosperous bioeconomy.
At the inaugural conference, “Bioeconomy Futures: Collaborative
pathways between the United Kingdom, Costa Rica, Colombia and
Brazil,” the UK Ambassador to Costa Rica, Ben Lyster-Binns,
welcomed high-level officials and experts, including UK Minister
; Bioeconomy Secretary of
Brazil, Carina Pimenta; Vice Minister of Business Development of
Colombia, Soraya Caro; and Bioeconomy Minister of Argentina,
Fernando Vilella, who had joined virtually.
Ambassador Lyster-Binns reminded attendees that international
cooperation and knowledge exchange were key to taking full
advantage of the bioeconomy’s potential to drive sustainable
development. He expressed the hope that the day’s deliberations
would help strengthen the enabling environment for the
development of the bioeconomy in the participating countries,
especially for small and medium enterprises.
During the ministerial panel discussion, Minister Benyon
highlighted the UK’s work across government to ensure the country
meets its climate and nature targets. He also made reference to
UK government commitments to regional initiatives, such as an
initial £2 million through the UK’s Blue Planet Fund, £80 million
for the Amazon Fund and a wider shared commitment to get £30
billion a year for nature flowing in to developing countries by
2030, mobilising a global total of £200bn a year by 2030.
Later in the week, field trips to the coffee cooperative
CoopeTarrazu, the Costa Rica Institute of Technology and the
Manuel Antonio National Park provided insight into biotechnology
initiatives and scientific research underway in the country to
boost the bioeconomy, as well as ongoing efforts and strategies
to protect and conserve Costa Rica’s prized biodiversity.
also held meetings with the
Costa Rican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arnoldo André;
Environment Minister Franz Tattenbach; and Vice Minister for
Foreign Trade, Indiana Trejos, as well as with non-governmental
organisations working in the area of climate and environment.
