Controversial coal-fired plant at center of NYC forum

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican NaturalResources Defense Committee in New York on Sunday hosed a discussion on thePunta Catalina coal-fired power plant and its impact on health and theenvironment, at the offices of the New York-Dominican Journalists Institute.

Environmentalists Rosa García and SamuelSánchez, two Dominicans living in the US, analyzed the technical and economicfeasibility of converting the Punta Catalina plant to natural gas, to reduceCO2 emissions and avert coal’s intrinsic pollution exclusive.

The participants deplored that the countryhas yet ratify the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, despite the DominicanRepublic being one of the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climatechange.

As an example of the country’s vulnerability toclimate change the speakers cited the flooding in the north and Cibao regions, "outsideof the usual climate patterns."

"The participants in the talks undertookvarious activities to demand the ratification of the Paris Agreement by theDominican Republic and in favor of converting Punta Catalina to natural gas."