OECD Environmental Performance Reviews : Chile 2024.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

OECD, author, issuing body.

Series:

OECD Environmental Performance Reviews

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Climatic changes.

Environmental policy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (124 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

OECD Environmental Performance Reviews

Place of Publication:

Paris : Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development, 2024.

Summary:

The review provides 36 recommendations to help Chile improve its environmental performance, with a special focus on water management and policies. It provides an independent, evidence-based evaluation of the country's environmental performance since the previous review in 2016.

Contents:

Intro

Foreword

Reader's guide

Basic statistics of Chile

Executive summary

Chile made a major step-change in climate policy and needs ambitious action to meet targets

Air pollution remains a serious public heath challenge

Waste management relies heavily on landfilling

Chile made major strides on biodiversity conservation

Environmental institutions were strengthened, but are under-resourced

The green tax reform should be pursued

The severe and deepening water crisis spurs increasing social conflicts

Water allocation reform and improved water quality are urgently needed

Establishing river basin pilots is a positive step to strengthen water governance

Assessment and recommendations

1. Towards sustainable development

Decoupling of environmental pressures from economic growth is limited in Chile

Building resilience to climate change impacts faces major funding and capacity gaps

Chile achieved a major step-change in the legal framework for climate action, although emissions continued to rise

Chile must implement the climate law with a whole-of-government approach

Decarbonisation of the energy sector requires swift coal phase-out and expansion of renewables

Transport and building sectors should have more stringent climate targets

Air pollution, linked to energy poverty, is a major public health challenge

Chile forges ahead with biodiversity conservation amid management and data challenges

Waste management requires urgent and transformative actions towards a circular economy

Significant progress was made in strengthening environmental institutions

Further decentralisation is needed to empower local environmental services

Progress on environmental quality and emission standards stalled, and the liability regime for environmental damage is still weak.

Environmental impact assessment needs better technical criteria for decision-making and broader, early citizen participation

Compliance monitoring expanded with new technology but is still under-resourced

Enforcement has been strengthened by broadening criminal liability

Chile should continue the reform on green tax and electricity price-setting mechanism

Fiscal cost of support to fossil fuels increased due to the global supply disruptions

Environmental expenditure trends need to be systematically identified with meaningful categorisation by domain

Chile leads the GSSS bond market in the region to mobilise private sector investment

Green hydrogen attracts national attention, but must ensure safety, social and environmental considerations

Intensifying production of lithium must address social and environmental impacts

The Just Socio-Ecological Transition needs well-targeted policies to address social inequalities and environmental injustice

2. Water management and policies

Chile faces a severe and deepening water crisis resulting in increasing social conflicts

The availability of freshwater resources is sharply declining

Overall, agriculture is the major water user in Chile, but mining accounts for a large share of abstractions in certain regions

Water pollution is a major issue in Chile and not sufficiently monitored

Chile is taking steps to adapt to the impacts of climate change on water resources

The Chilean population enjoys high levels of access to drinking water and sanitation, although disparities in rural areas remain

Establishing river basin pilots is a positive step to address fragmented water governance

Chile must continue to reform its allocation arrangements to put water management on a sustainable footing.

Emergency measures are inadequate to manage Chile's water resources sustainably

Water quality standards cover only a fraction of Chile's water bodies

Wastewater discharge standards should be more stringent and cover more sectors

Lack of comprehensive data and systematic monitoring impedes sustainable water management

Chile has robust tariffs for urban WSS, but should better leverage economic instruments for water management

Chile should explore a broader suite of financing options for water-related investments

References

Notes

Annex 1. Actions taken to implement selected recommendations from the 2016 OECD Environmental Performance Review of Chile

1 Towards sustainable development

1.1. Addressing key environmental challenges

1.1.1. Progress towards climate targets

Chile achieved a major step-change in the legal framework for climate action, but the challenge lies in implementation

Trends and mitigation policies in key sectors

Energy industries are the largest GHG emitter

coal phase-out, carbon tax and renewables expansion are key for decarbonisation

Rising energy consumption in transport with slow uptake of electric vehicles and incomplete green tax reform make it challenging to reach the GHG reduction target

Industry and mining are the largest energy consumers, with policy focus on use of low-carbon sources and process electrification

GHG emissions from buildings remain stagnant

decarbonisation of heating is needed with more ambitious targets for buildings

Agriculture GHG emissions are declining, while LULUCF contributes as a carbon sink

1.1.2. Atmospheric emissions and air quality

1.1.3. Progress towards biodiversity targets

1.1.4. Waste management and circular economy.

1.2. Improving environmental governance and management

1.2.1. Institutional framework for environmental governance

Key progress made in strengthening environmental institutions

Local governments still have little autonomy, calling for greater decentralisation

1.2.2. Regulatory framework for environmental management

There has been limited progress on environmental quality and emission standards

Environmental impact assessment needs to further strengthen its technical criteria

Strategic environmental assessment has improved but needs further incorporation of climate change

1.2.3. Compliance assurance

Enforcement capacity has been strengthened by broadening the criminal liability

Liability regime for environmental damage is still weak with the limited progress

1.3. Enhancing policy coherence for green growth

1.3.1. Greening the system of taxes and charges

Taxes on energy use

A carbon tax was implemented, but its rate is too low

A carbon offsetting system was established, and a "cap and tax" system is planned

Fiscal cost of support to fossil fuels increased due to global supply disruptions

Transport-related taxes show a wide gap between diesel and petrol, the removal of exemptions is still pending

Taxes on natural resources could contribute to environmental remediation

1.3.2. Investing in the environment to promote green growth

Renewable energy and energy efficiency

Renewable electricity generation capacity grew rapidly, and more investments in transmission and storage infrastructures are needed

Green hydrogen attracts national attention but must ensure safety and social considerations.

Energy efficiency investments focus mainly on the building sector

Low-carbon transport investments focus on electrification of vehicles and railways

Lithium mining is intensifying for the green transition, raising environmental concerns

1.3.3. Social and distributional impacts of environmental policy

The COVID-19 pandemic reversed gains in reducing poverty and inequality

Disparities in environmental burdens is a historical and growing concern in Chile

The Just Socio-Ecological Transition needs well-targeted policy for social assistance

2 Water management and policies

2.1 Pressures, state and trends

2.1.1 Water quantity

2.1.2 Water quality

2.1.3 Water management in the context of climate change

2.1.4 Water supply and sanitation services

2.2 Water strategies and basin plans

2.3 Institutional arrangements for water management

2.4 Policy instruments for water management

2.4.1 Water allocation

2.4.2 Water quality standards and regulations

2.4.3 Data and information

2.4.4 Economic instruments for water management and WSS

2.4.5 Finance and investment in water infrastructure

Irrigation subsidies

Notes.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9789264734975

926473497X

OCLC:

1460464395