Former Costa Rica president aims to inspire UI students
Alvarado Quesada visits campus to speak about his country’s climate policies and other issues during Borah Symposium
MOSCOW — The 48th president of Costa Rica encouraged the Moscow community to set lofty goals when it comes to bettering society.
Carlos Alvarado Quesada, now a professor at Tufts University, was the keynote speaker during the University of Idaho’s 77th annual Borah Symposium. The theme of this year’s symposium was “Peace and Security in the 21st Century.”
Alvarado Quesada, who served as president from 2018-22, spoke about how his small Latin America country became a world leader in several important 21st century issues like climate policies and COVID-19 mitigation.
Alvarado Quesada said he tried to live up to his grandparents’ generation, which brought universal health care to the country, abolished the country’s army and reversed deforestation in Costa Rica. The former president said he took on the burden of continuing their legacy.
“If the generation of my grandparents was capable of something said to be impossible as abolishing the armed forces, we could aim to something that appeared impossible,” he said.
During his term, that “impossible” goal was decarbonization, he said. The Costa Rican government launched a decarbonization plan in 2019 with a goal of continuing to grow the economy while cutting back on fossil fuel emissions. The plan included cutting the tax on electric vehicle importance and supporting low-carbon agricultural practices.
He said the effectiveness of this plan was studied by other countries, including the United States.
He also said Costa Rica helped form the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, a coalition of countries with the goal of protecting 30% of biodiversity on land in oceans by 2030. The coalition has grown to 118 countries since 2019.
He said people also thought this coalition’s goal was impossible.
“I usually say whenever somebody tells you any of your endeavors are impossible, thank them,” he said. “They’re giving you drive, they’re giving you purpose, they’re giving you strength.”
Alvarado Quesada served during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said Costa Rica’s efforts to limit the spread of infections made it one of the world leaders in preventing COVID-19 deaths.
He said if a small country like Costa Rica with limited resources can accomplish these feats, “the sky’s the limit of what you guys can do for the world, for peace, for the planet.”
Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.
