Antofagasta Chile
In 2020, people belonging to the Mejillones community requested the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) to review an environmental qualification resolution of the Angamos thermoelectric plant in 2007.
The environmental agency initiated the review process, but only considered variables related to the marine environment, without taking into account the effects on the atmosphere. Therefore, it was requested that this component be included, since it is in the atmosphere where the environmental changes caused by climate change are most evident.
Chilean authorities considered that this was not necessary for the operation of the thermoelectric power plant (which has operated based on coal combustion for more than 15 years).
Faced with this scenario, a protection appeal was filed which was rejected by the Court of Appeals of Antofagasta, ratifying the criterion of the Environmental Assessment Service, arguing that the environmental qualification resolution does not cover matters that are not considered in the environmental impact assessment process.
The case was then brought before the Supreme Court and in April 2022, it ordered the integration of the climate variable into the review process of the Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA) of the Angamos Thermoelectric Power Plant precisely because it had not been considered by the authority or the guardian at the beginning of the project.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court stated that the mechanism is appropriate in cases seeking to regulate situations not previously foreseen, such as climate change. It therefore ordered the Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) to begin an analysis of the atmospheric component, considering the elements that have changed in the terrestrial environment due to climate change, from the start of its implementation in 2007 to the present.
In this case, the central argument is that the lack of consideration of the climate variable must be abolished, since the review of the RCA is the ideal mechanism to safeguard against the risks associated with climate change, and failure to do so would violate the commitments made in the Paris Agreement and other international treaties on human rights and environmental law.
- Association of Tourist Service Providers of Mejillones,
- Batucada Ax Youth Group Tim Baue,
- FIMA
- Chilean State
- Environmental Assessment Service (SEA) of the Antofagasta Region
Mejillones is a commune in northern Chile, located 65 km north of the city of Antofagasta, in the province of the same name, in the Antofagasta Region (Region II), and 1,440 km from Santiago. It has an area of 3,803.912 km². It includes the towns of Mejillones, Carolina de Michilla, and Hornitos.
According to the Population and Housing Census carried out in 2017, the commune of María Elena has a total of 13,467 inhabitants, of which 8,035 are men and 5,432 are women (Library of the National Congress, 2021).
According to the 2017 Population Census, approximately 9.8% of the inhabitants of Mejillones declare themselves to belong to some native people, of which the majority belong to the Mapuche ethnic group, followed by the Aymara.
International Agreements
- Paris Agreement
National Laws
- Article 25 quinquies of Law No. 19,300.