Chile’s energy sector relies in part on coal-fired power generation, but the country’s Long-Term Energy Policy now aims to generate 70% of all electricity through renewable sources such as wind and solar power by 2050
The effects of climate change are already being felt in Chile. Over the past ten years, the country has experienced a mega-drought, a record number of forest fires, melting glaciers and an increased incidence of extreme weather.
The country’s government has announced a very ambitious goal: Chile will be the first developing country to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
“The goal is for Chile to absorb as much CO2 as it produces, so that by 2050 the environmental impact will be zero,” explains María Teresa González, who is Statkraft’s country manager in Chile.
The government has announced, among other things, that all Chile’s 28 coal-fired power plants – which are mainly operated by companies from the United States, France and Italy – will close by 2040. The first phase involves closing eight thermoelectric plants.