The Costa Rican Center for Cleaner Production will this year present a proposal for the wide-scale production and use of biodiesel, fuel created in part from natural oil sources, such as the African palm. A mix of fossil and plant-based fuel, biodiesel burns more cleanly and efficiently, reducing emissions of toxic gases, sulfur and particulate matter.

“Costa Rica spends 500 million dollars on petroleum-derived fuels every year. Biodiesel could substitute a portion of that and provide jobs for African palm growers in the economically depressed areas in the south and along the central Pacific coast,” says Sergio Musmanni, director of the Center.

Biodiesel is already being used in Europe and the United States. Brazil is the pioneer in promoting biodiesel use in Latin America. Costa Rica is the first in Central America.