In 2007 Costa Rica announced its intention to be the first carbon neutral country by 2021, a race that includes Iceland, Norway and New Zealand. But it became an ecological example for the rest of the world much earlier, in 1949, when the government committed to generating electricity from natural resources. Since then, a reversal of deforestation and the creation of national parks have also played a part. Martha Lane Fox explains.

Image: Scarlet Macaw - one of the beneficiaries of Costa Rica's conservation policy. Credit: Thinkstock