Chile's Tele 13 Radio journalist Paula Comondari reported on Wednesday that the national Mining Council's expected $10 million funding package for the UN’s 25th Conference of the Parties (COP25) was to be slashed to just $2 million. Mining is Chile’s biggest industry and is intensive in terms of its associated water, energy and associated carbon emissions.
Arturo Aguirre, Mayor of the Los Cerrillos COP event district, was unable to substantiate the details of the leak regarding COP25 funding with Desmog, but confirmed that “support has been less than expected.”
He spoke to DeSmog as he attempted to overcome a stand-off between members of civil society and industrialists by launching a Social Summit for Climate Action conference, to be held parallel to the COP. Civil society groups are angry at the Chilean government for what they see as “exorbitant” costs of participating in the COP, while the country’s major polluters are continued to lobbying against more stringent climate policy.
Climate Law Lobbying
Chile is currently trying to pass a Climate Change Law that binds them to carbon zero emissions by 2050. The mining bureau have dismissed the scientific validity of the 2050 date as a “self-imposed” target “lacking discussion and substance.”This is in spite of the October 2018 peer reviewed IPCC Special Report that outlined the need for the 2050 target date.
The Chilean Construction Association have also publicly criticised the proposed law citing its mitigation focus as costly and “not a priority for a non-emission relevant country like Chile which contributed approximately 0.25 percent (to global emissions) in 2015.” At COP25, much of the work in ensuring the success of the Paris Agreement will fall to Chile as host nation as they guide negotiations on how low emitting countries can be encouraged to curb emissions as they develop.
With such groups beginning to rail at the close examination COP is bringing to their carbon-intensive operations, journalist Comondari told DeSmog that Chilean industrialists are reluctant to fund what they are describing as “the environmentalists Lollapalooza” – a reference to a global music-festival franchise that visits Chile each March.
Parliamentarian Sebastián Torrelaba, member of the incumbent Chile Vamos coalition and a COP25 Presidential Advisor, told DeSmog that the meeting was open to everyone but that “Chile by its nature is a mining country and that’s not going to change.”
Aguirre told DeSmog that, in climate change terms ,“Chile has still not entered the battlefield. This is not going to be a voluntary process.” Asked whether the Chilean mining industry, which claims green credentials for providing lithium and copper for the electric vehicle revolution, can be considered a green industry, Aguirre pointed to global industry trends stating “sometime wolves disguise themselves as sheep.” In order that citizen’s rights come first, Aguirre added, “it’s now time to take off the masks.”
Read more at Funding for Annual UN Climate Talks Plummets as Mining Companies Slash Contributions
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