Candidate slams Govt. for ´carbonizing´ Dominican economy

Dominican Republic.- APDand Democratic Choice parties presidential candidate Minou Tavarez Mirabal on Mondayaccused president Danilo Medina´s Administration of having no commitment to cutgreenhouse gas emissions which lead to climate change, despite that DominicanRepublic figure among the planet´s 10 most vulnerable countries.

Tavarez said instead ofdecarbonizing the Dominican economy Medina choses to build two coal-firedplants, instead of presenting a plan to produce cleaner energy.

"Law No. 1-12 stipulatesthat the National Development Strategy requires us to move towards the decarburizationof the economy, giving priority to the introduction of clean and renewableenergy," said the also deputy for the National District.

Noting that the WorldClimate Summit (cop21) is set or Paris in late November, Tavarez said thegovernment will go to the Summit without a plan to reduce CO2 emissions. "Climatechange is threatening our survival as a country and as a people. We have noother choice than to vigorously join the countries that are advocating foreffective, permanently monitored and sanctions for non-compliance of agreements,."

As examples of theserious damage climate change is causing in her country, the presidentialcandidate said the recent prolonged drought nationwide cut agro production sharply, impoverishing farmersand raising food prices.

"It´s countrieslike the Dominican Republic, a tropical island, which increased climate change willhit hardest, with loss of life, of costs from rising sea level, gradualdesertification of land and destruction of crops and infrastructure which willset the country back over 20 years if one of the hurricanes, which areincreasingly numerous and intense, hits the island," Tavarez said.