Expand / Collapse Hide / Show all Abstracts Table of Contents

• Mark Click to Access
• Preface

  Natural resources are a pillar of Chile’s economy. Chile is the world’s largest copper producer, as well as a major exporter of agricultural, forestry and fishery products. It benefitted from the commodity price boom of the 2000s, and economic growth has been sustained for most of the last 15 years. It has greatly improved living standards, and massive investments have led to more people having access to key services such as wastewater treatment and urban public transport. However, strong growth has been accompanied by a stubborn persistence of income inequality and increasing environmental pressures, notably air pollution, water shortage, habitat loss, and soil and water contamination.

• Foreword

  The principal aim of the OECD Environmental Performance Review programme is to help member and selected partner countries improve their individual and collective performance in environmental management by:

• Reader's guide

  The following signs are used in Figures and Tables:

• Abbreviations and acronyms
• Basic Statistics of Chile
• Executive summary

  During the last decade, Chile has made remarkable progress in strengthening its environmental institutions and policy framework, as recommended by the 2005 Environmental Performance Review. In 2010, Chile established the Ministry of Environment, the Council of Ministers for Sustainability, an inspectorate and an environmental assessment agency. This has helped raise the profile of environmental policy and clarify environmental management and sustainable development responsibilities within the government. However, the environmental benefits of institutional reforms are lagging behind; rigorous implementation is needed to tackle environmental pressures as Chile’s income level continues to catch up with the OECD average.

• Assessment and recommendations

  The Assessment and recommendations present the main findings of the Environmental Performance Review of Chile and identify 54 recommendations to help Chile make further progress towards its environmental policy objectives and international commitments. The OECD Working Party on Environmental Performance reviewed and approved the Assessment and recommendations at its meeting on 10 March 2016.

• Add to Marked List

• Expand / Collapse Hide / Show all Abstracts Progress towards sustainable development

  • Mark Click to Access
  • Environmental performance: Trends and recent developments

    Strong economic growth has helped Chile improve the well-being of its citizens. Economic growth, extraction of natural resources and rising resource and energy use have exerted increasing environmental pressures, however. This chapter examines Chile’s progress in decoupling economic activity from environmental pressures, focusing on the period since 2000. It presents the key socio-economic developments and reviews Chile’s progress in moving towards an energy-efficient and low-carbon economy; resource efficiency in material consumption and waste management; and sustainable management of the natural asset base, including biodiversity and water resources.

  • Environmental governance and management

    Chile has significantly strengthened its institutional framework for environmental management and reinforced the regulatory framework for pollution control. Insufficient human and technical capacity and persisting socio-environmental tensions, however, generate implementation challenges. This chapter analyses Chile’s environmental governance system, including horizontal and vertical co-ordination mechanisms. It reviews the regulatory framework for environmental impact assessment and permitting, and discusses steps taken to improve compliance with environmental law. The chapter also assesses progress in promoting public participation in decision making and access to environmental information, education and justice.

  • Towards green growth

    An export-oriented and natural-resource based economy, Chile experienced strong economic growth for most of the 2000-15 period. The national Green Growth Strategy is being revamped with a view to better balancing economic, environmental and equity considerations. This chapter presents Chile’s progress in using economic and tax policies to pursue environmental objectives. It analyses public and private investment in environment-related and low-carbon infrastructure, and reviews the promotion of environmental technologies, goods and services as a source of economic growth and jobs. The role of Chile as both a recipient and provider of environment-focused development assistance is also discussed.

  • Add to Marked List

• Expand / Collapse Hide / Show all Abstracts Progress towards selected environmental objectives

  • Mark Click to Access
  • Climate change

    Chile’s emissions of greenhouse gases are below the OECD average, but are growing rapidly. Meanwhile, it is vulnerable to the effects of a changing climate. In addition to exploring the evolution of mitigation policies in Chile across a range of key sectors, including energy, this chapter analyses the country’s strategy for adapting to the impacts of climate change.

  • Biodiversity conservation and sustainable use

    This chapter reviews the pressures on Chile’s biodiversity, its status and trends, as well as institutional, governance and financing arrangements to promote conservation and sustainable use. It also assesses Chile’s progress in using regulatory and economic instruments for biodiversity conservation, efforts to mainstream biodiversity considerations into sectoral and other policies, and mechanisms to improve the knowledge base and promote research, development and innovation.

  • Add to Marked List