Dominican Republic

Status under International Climate Change Law

• UNFCCC: signature (17 June 1992), ratification (7 October 1994), and entry into force (5 January 1999)
• KP: ratification (12 December 2002), and entry into force (16 February 2005)
  Quantified emission limitation or reduction commitment: na
• Vienna Convention: accession (18 March 1993)
• Montreal Protocol: accession (18 March 1993)
• 2030 Commitment: 25% emissions reduction from 2010 levels by 2030.

Federal Laws on Climate Change

Climate

• National Development Strategy (Law 1-12) (2012) [Spanish] requires national adaption to climate change, setting the binding commitment to decrease GHG emissions by 25 percent by 2010 with respect to 2010 levels. Additionally, the country aims to grow GDP 140 percent by 2030.
• Creation of the Office of Climate Change and the Clean Development Mechanism (Decree 601-08) (2008) [Spanish] is intended to integrate climate change programs with those of the international community, and promotes national mitigation and adaption policies.

Energy

• Law on Renewable Energy (Law 57-07) (2007) [Spanish] creates the regulatory framework for the production of renewable energy, aiming to diversify the energy supply, mitigate greenhouse gases, and decentralize the production of power. The Law provides tax exemptions and incentives for projects in renewable energies.
• Law on Hydrocarbons (Law 112-00) (2000) [Spanish] establishes for the development of renewable energy sources and energy efficiency programs financed by a tax on fossil fuel and petroleum derivatives.
• General Electricity Law (Law 125-01) (2001) [Spanish] taxes electricity production from fossil fuels.

Forests and Land Use

• Environmental Protection (Law 64-00) (2000) [Spanish] aims to “provide rules for the protection, improvement and restoration of the environment and natural resources, by ensuring the sustained development thereof” through cooperation with UNFCCC and the creation of ‘Environmental Crime’ defined as deforestation in protected areas.
• On Protected Areas (Law 202-04) (2004) [Spanish] cites humans as the central beneficiaries of the law which seeks to preserve ecosystems and ecosystem services, engaging directly with LULUCF/REDD+.

Government Documents

• Constitution of the Dominican Republic
• Second National Communication on Climate Change

Factual Matters

• The National Council for Climate Change and the Clean Development Mechanism (CNCCMDL)

Secondary Sources

• National Energy Commission (2012). Status and Outlook of the Renewable Energies in The Dominican Republic. Global workshop on clean energy development. December 1‐8, 2012. Washington DC.
• CIA (2013). The Dominican Republic. The CIA World Factbook. (Online). Accessible at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/dr.html.
• ECLAC (2010). Review Of The Economics Of Climate Change (RECC). In The Caribbean Project: Phase I Climate Change Profiles In Select Caribbean Countries. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Subregional Headquarters for the Caribbean. Accessed at http://www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/8/39188/LCARL.250.pdf
• IISD (2013). Dominican Republic Launches National Climate Change Capacity Building Strategy. IISD Climate Change and Policy and Practice website. (Online). Accessed at http://climate-l.iisd.org/news/dominican-republic-launches-national-climate-change-capacity-building-strategy/
• CNCC (2011). A Journey to sustainable growth. National Council for Climate Change and the Clean Development Mechanism, Government of the Dominican Republic.

Updated as of: April 20, 2014