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Chile’s Boric emphasizes green credentials via the environmental treaty “U-turn”.

Chile’s Boric emphasizes green credentials via the environmental treaty “U-turn”.

Chile’s President Gabriel Boric is seen at a news conference in Santiago, Chile with foreign correspondents on March 14, 2022. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Photo

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SANTIAGO (18 March 2018 – Reuters) – Chile’s President Gabriel Boric, a leftist, signed the country to the United Nation’s Escazu Agreement on Friday. This was a reversal from the previous government, which had been reluctant to support the treaty.

Chile, the world’s largest copper producer, supported the treaty initially. It focused on environmental justice in Latin America, the Caribbean, and access to information. But, it later withdrew its support due to legal uncertainties.

Boric, who replaced Sebastian Pinera from the center-right, took office this month and has promised to take a strong stance on climate change regulation.

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Boric stated, “This agreement is a milestone on a path to anew relationship between the State of California and its inhabitants in environmentally-related matters.”

Congress still needs to approve the move.

The treaty, which was signed in 2018 by many countries from the region including Brazil, Argentina and Mexico, entered into force in April 2018. It aims to protect the rights of people “to live and prosper in a healthy and sustainable environment.”

This includes access to environmental data, which could be important in countries such as Chile, where questions about water use by lithium and copper firms and the impact of mining activities on glaciers could have significant business impacts.

The treaty was signed by 24 countries in the region, and 12 of them have ratified.

“We face the worst ecological crisis in our history and we must all work together to solve it. We will not succeed alone,” said Maisa Rojas (Minister of the Environment), who is also a climatologist.

“The first and sole environmental treaty in Latin America, Caribbean emerges as a powerful tool that will bring about the change we seek.”

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Natalia Ramos reports; editing by Adam Jourdan, Paul Simao

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