Chile
Chile drops five ranks in this year’s CCPI, to 11th, but it remains among the high-performing countries.
Chile receives a high rating in the GHG Emissions category, medium in Climate Policy and Renewable Energy, and low in Energy Use, due to the country’s unambitious target and weak showing in GHG per capita compared with a well-below-2°C benchmark. The strong performance in GHG Emissions owes to relatively low per capita emissions of 3.18 CO2eq (including LULUCF). Nonetheless, the country ranks only 43rd in GHG per capita – current trend (excluding LULUCF).
Framework Law does not yet meet expectations
As in the previous year, the CCPI national experts value Chile’s Framework Law on Climate Change, which was adopted in June 2022 and includes a commitment to reach net zero by 2050, along with concrete policies for implementation. This includes, for instance, the country’s Long-Term Climate Strategy, Climate Change Financial Strategy and both sectoral and local (regional- and municipal-level) mitigation and adaptation plans. However, the experts are still waiting for these policies’ anticipated GHG reduction and implementation. The Framework Law, therefore, does not yet meet their expectations.
Share of fossil fuels is still high
Since 2008, there has been a quota for the feed-in of non-conventional renewable energies (ERNC*) in the energy grid (10% in 2024) and the experts are certain this quota will also be achieved. However, gas and other fossil fuels, such as diesel, continue to be subsidised. The high subsidies hinder the promotion of new technologies such as geothermal energy, which the experts indicate has great potential.
Meanwhile, the shares of coal and fossil fuels in the electricity grid and truck transport have not reduced substantially, despite the government’s focus on electromobility. Overall, the experts identify a lack of coherence in Chile’s climate policy.
The experts call for decreased fossil fuel subsidies (especially for gas and diesel), improved scheduling of the energy transition processes, a modal shift in transport, implementation of forest commitments, and improvements in citizen participation and consideration of climate justice.
It is important to note that the declined performance of Chile is influenced by new and updated data on the LULUCF sector.
Key Outcomes
|
CCPI experts
The following national experts agreed to be mentioned as contributors for this year’s CCPI:
- Sam Leiva (Fundación Territorios Colectivos)
- Cecilia Ibarra (Centro de Ciencias del Clima y la Resiliencia)