[ad_1]
“Chile: rejection of the Escazú Agreement ends the aspiration for environmental leadership” is the title of a report by Deutsche Welle that focuses on the resistance of the Government of Sebastián Piñera to signing the Escazú Agreement, the first major environmental agreement in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The note from the German public media emphasizes that five days after the deadline for signing the treaty, Chile maintains its refusal to sign it. “The great contradiction of this whole thing is that Chile, under Piñera’s first term (2010-2014), was the main promoter and negotiator to draw up the Escazú Agreement ”together with Costa Rica, the report says.
DW adds that lThe arguments of the Government for not signing the international treaty do not convince the experts consulted. “The Chilean government seems prioritize the private sector over environmental protection”, He points out, also recalling that“ the South American country is subscribed to the Paris Agreement and chaired the 2019 United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP25) that was held in Madrid, an event in which the Chilean leadership in environmental matters he was harshly criticized ”.
The report includes the opinions of the academic Paulina Astroza, an expert in International Law and International Relations, who emphasizes that “not signing Escazú is inconsistent. Marcelo Mena, former Minister of the Environment in the second government of Michelle Bachelet, also appears, who maintains that “this agreement is not going to be signed by this Government and, therefore, we should not ask for pears from the elm (…) I would prefer that this issue be addressed in the constituent process and let’s elect a government that does ratify this agreement. “
For her part, Ingrid Wehr, representative for the Southern Cone of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, linked to the German party Los Verdes, told DW that “from the environmental world it is suspected that this blockade really comes from the presidency and has to do with the fact that there are powerful private interests of extractivist companies that are imposing their economic agenda against the environmental and human rights agenda. Otherwise it is not explained. None of the arguments that we have heard since 2018 have any solid foundation “.
“The State of Chile loses a great opportunity to strengthen the rights of defenders, but also to clean up its international image very damaged after the social outbreak. Furthermore, signing the agreement at this time would help prevent more socio-environmental conflicts at a time when the The country is going through one of the most critical moments in its political history ”, concluded Ingrid Wehr.
[ad_2]
