Chile's Environment Minister Maisa Rojas, a leading climate scientist with a PhD from Oxford who made the leap into politics this year, is on a mission to strengthen the Andean country's environmental rules and hold mining firms to account.
Rojas, 49, is spearheading a new climate change law that binds Chile to carbon neutrality by 2050 and gives her ministry more power to set emission caps, including for the key mining sector in the world's top copper producer.
A strengthened ministry would hold companies to account on emissions, mining tailings, water use and environmental adaptation plans, with a mandatory yearly reporting requirement to congress, she said. At an event on Thursday, Undersecretary of Mining Willy Kracht emphasized that Chile was "a mining country and we are proud to be one and we know what it implies."Rojas, who has researched the impact of climate change on water resources, said the government will rely on Chile's recently reformed water code to help the country deal with its biggest environmental challenge: a 13-year drought.
The current system prioritizes private water rights, but Rojas said the new councils would allow "those who have rights to water and those that don't have rights to water" to make decisions together.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Intact, pregnant ichthyosaur fossil recovered from Patagonian glacier in ChileChilean scientists successfully recovered one of the world's most complete ichthyosaur fossils with intact embryos from the Tyndall Glacier in Chile's Patagonia region.
Read more »
Easy Pressure Cooker Pork Chile Verde RecipeA deeply flavored pressure cooker chile verde that requires only 15 minutes of hands-on work.
Read more »
Chile puts CBDC plans on hold until end of 2022 to undertake more analysisChile has delayed its CBDC plans. The Central Bank said the issuance of a digital Chilean peso requires a deeper analysis of the benefits and risks, promising a new report toward the end of the year.
Read more »
Appellate court rules against mining project in ArizonaAn appeals court Thursday upheld a judge’s ruling overturning a federal agency’s approval of Toronto-based Hudbay Mineral Inc.’s plan for a new open-pit copper mine in southeastern Arizona.
Read more »
Scientists Have Revived a Glimmer of Activity in Human Eyes After DeathScientists have momentarily restored a faint twinkle of life to dying cells in the human eye.
Read more »
Intact, pregnant ichthyosaur fossil recovered from Patagonian glacier in ChileChilean scientists successfully recovered one of the world's most complete ichthyosaur fossils with intact embryos from the Tyndall Glacier in Chile's Patagonia region.
Read more »