Dominican Republic tries to hide its dirty coal plants: Organization

Santo Domingo.- TheNational Committee to Combat Climate Change (CNLCC) on Wednesday denounced thatthe government submitted, without disclosure and secretly, the document withthe country’s position on climate change to the organizers of the World ClimateSummit, set for year end in Paris.

It questioned thegovernment´s effort to keep the various sectors from stating their view over theconstruction of the coal-fired coal plants at Punta Catalina, southern Peraviaprovince. “These plants will emit more than five million tons of carbon dioxidea year, the main greenhouse gas, which causes climate change.”

The Committee said OmarRamirez, executive vice president of the National Council for Climate Changeand the Clean Development Mechanism, submitted to the document to the organizersof the World Climate Summit “as if it were the result of consensus of theentire Dominican nation to confront climate change and its consequences.”

"This documentshould be known and discussed previously with civil society and the country´s productivesectors as stated in the method to preparae this international event,"said the Committee in a press conference .

President Danilo Medina´sgovernment, with the complicity of the National Council for Climate Change andthe Clean Development Mechanism, wants to appear that it is concerned aboutclimate change and is implementing measures to reduce emissions of carbondioxide, while building two coal-fired plants which will erase the country´s progressin reducing gas emissions,” the organization said.

It adds that once PuntaCatalina´s plants start operating, the amount of CO2 they’ll spew would equal0.56 tons per inhabitant, “which will mean a 20% increase in emissions by just onesingle cause.”