5 Unexpected Leaders in the Green Movement
(sourced from goodnet.org)
When researching the greenest countries, it is no surprise to come across trend setters like Switzerland, Sweden and Singapore. They are the first to implement new trends and technologies. However, the times are changing. There are some up and comers breaking into the green movement ranks according to the latest Climate Change Performance Index 2015 (CCPI).
1. Morocco- North Africa’s Morocco is one of the few emerging markets that perform highly on clean energy. The country was commended for its increasing number of solar and wind projects. Notably, Morocco is building a vast 160MW solar polar installation called Noor I, in Ouarzazate, south east of Marrakesh.
2. Cyprus- Earlier this year, Yiorgos Lakkotrypis, minister of energy, commerce, industry and tourism for Cyprus, stated that his country had, “Installed, and connected to the grid, 146.7 megawatt of wind parks, 36.5MW of photovoltaic systems and 9.7MW of biomass utilization units.”
3. Portugal- The Mediterranean country is one of the world’s leading nations for use of renewable energy. In the first quarter of 2013, 70 percent of energy consumption in Portugal was supplied by renewables, according to domestic company Redes Energéticas Nacionais. Portugal is home to Alto Minho, one of the biggest onshore wind farms in Europe, with 120 turbines and a capacity of 240 megawatts.
4. France- The country is one of Europe’s largest producers of wind energy, although its wind power installations fell by 24 percent in 2013, according to the European Wind Energy Association. France is also at the cutting edge in solar energy production. This year, French company Neoen began constructing a solar energy park near Bordeaux that will have a capacity of 300 megwatts (MW) of energy on completion.
5. Costa Rica– Costa Rica, a small country has performed remarkably well in the ‘eco living’ aspects. They have implemented strict environmental sound policies to ban any kind of sound pollution. Renewable energy sources are used for power generation. The government of Costa Rican have set a goal to become carbon neutral by 2021. Reforestation is taking place and already over 5 million trees are planted in last five years.
Excerpts for this blog were taken from cnbc.com “Are These the Greenest Countries?”
