In a meeting held today at the Cariola Diez Pérez-Cotapos Offices, the Sustainability Committee of the British Chilean Chamber of Commerce met to address crucial issues surrounding Environmental Permitting in Chile. The session featured a presentation by Cristóbal de la Maza, researcher at the San Sebastián University and former Superintendent of the Environment (SMA).

According to a recent study carried out by the San Sebastián University and published in the newspaper “El Mercurio”, it is estimated that the cost of excessive bureaucracy in the Environmental Assessment System (SEIA) reached almost US$ 2,000 million in the year. 2023, representing 0.58% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This fact, according to the study, becomes an important barrier to the country’s economic development, particularly at a time when growth rates close to 4% are aspired.

The study reveals that obtaining a favorable Environmental Qualification Resolution has become increasingly difficult and slow, with processing times exceeding 985 days on average for large projects, more than double the historical average. This delay in obtaining environmental permits has negatively impacted investment, which contracted by 5.3% in 2023, the lowest figure since 2007.

In this context, the need to simplify and harmonize environmental regulation was highlighted, as well as to improve the efficiency of the public apparatus in charge of project evaluation. The separation of processing into a short law to urgently address the reduction of processing times, and a long law to review other aspects of environmental management was proposed.

Among the measures suggested for the short law is the concentration of decision-making in a collegiate body, with necessary counterweights to integrate different visions on sustainability, as well as granting the regulator powers to standardize the permit procedure and accelerate the qualification of projects. recurring.

Cristóbal de la Maza emphasized that the optimization of the Environmental Assessment System is socially profitable and that it is necessary to aim to significantly reduce processing times, instead of obtaining marginal improvements.

The Sustainability Committee of the British Chilean Chamber of Commerce highlighted the importance of streamlining the operation of the environmental permit system, recognizing that the protection of the environment and the promotion of economic development must go hand in hand.

The meeting concluded with the commitment to continue working together to promote reforms that promote a more efficient and agile environmental permit system, for the benefit of the sustainable development of Chile.

Date: Thursday June 6, 2024

Location: Cariola Diez Pérez-Cotapos Offices

Press contact:

Paulina Galaz

Paulina.galaz@britcham.cl