Chile passed an Energy Efficiency Law. This law calls for companies to make a rational and efficient use of resources, which practically covers all energy consumption in the country: transportation, industry, mining, residential, public and commercial sectors. The Ministry of Energy will prepare a National Energy Efficiency Plan every five years. The first plan includes a goal to reduce energy intensity by at least 10% by 2030.
Category: Public policy
Information related to political affairs that have an impact on Chile’s economic development.
Senate passes FOGAPE 2.0 that extends transitional extension to December 2021
The Senate passed the bill to amend the Guarantee Fund for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Fogape). The legal text extends the current transitional extension -from 100,000 UF ($3.9 million) to 1,000,000 UF ($39.4 million)- to 31 December 2021, with respect to the maximum annual net sales, established as a requirement to allow entrepreneurs access to the Fund's guarantee.
Employment subsidies: 48,468 companies have submitted 366,487 workers to the programme
A total of 48,468 companies have applied for 366,487 workers for the employment subsidy programme. 30% of these workers applied for the "return to work" subsidy, and 70% for the "new hires" subsidy. The programme aims to encourage new hiring and to allow suspended workers to return to their jobs. The programme has a budget of $2 billion to benefit 1.3 million workers.
Third shipment of COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Chile
A new shipment of 88,725 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine arrived in Chile from Belgium to continue with the immunization plan the government has put in place. This shipment is the third after another two that arrived in recent weeks with a cumulative 21,000 doses. The government plans to vaccinate 15 million people identified within the target population in the first half of 2021.
Chile threatens legal action to get Albermarle to disclose lithium reserves
Chilean regulators have threatened Albemarle Corp with legal action, demanding that by week´s end the world´s top lithium miner present a plan for turning over data on its reserves of the ultralight battery metal, according to filings obtained by Reuters.
Chilean environmental court approves agreement plan between Codelco and the government
A Chilean environmental court approved an agreement between state-owned copper miner Codelco and the government to remedy sustained water overuse by its Salvador mine. The government said that Codelco had overdrawn water from the northern Pedernales salt flat without considering its regeneration capacity. Codelco will now be required to recharge the Pedernales aquifer, conduct water studies both in the salt flat & river basins around it, establish better dialogue with parties in the area and restore 60 hectares of high Andean plains.
Since September, Chile has spent $500 mn on employment subsidies
In the last three months, Chile has approved 311,000 applications for employment subsidies, representing a fiscal expenditure of $500 million. At the end of September, the government launched an employment subsidy plan with a budget of $2.2 billion.
Chile will buy 14.4 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine
AstraZeneca has filed data with Chilean regulators for the emergency roll-out of its Covid-19 vaccine in the country and could get a green light “weeks or even days” after approval by European or American regulators. Chile has signed a deal to buy 14.4 million doses of the drug, an amount that would vaccinate nearly 40% of Chile's population.
Chile becomes first South American country to start COVID-19 vaccination
Chile became the first country in South America to begin coronavirus vaccinations on Thursday after receiving its first 10,000 Pfizer-BioNTech doses. Medical workers were the first to be inoculated. Chilean President Sebastián Piñera said people with chronic illnesses and the elderly would be the next groups to receive the vaccine.
Chilean president announces that COVID-19 vaccination will begin on Thursday
President Sebastián Piñera said that the COVID-19 vaccination campaign will begin on Thursday, after the arrival of the first 10,000 doses. President Piñera announced that a plane carrying the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines has already left Belgium and is scheduled to arrive in Chile in the early hours on Thursday. The vaccination process will begin immediately. Chile will have more than 30 million doses as a result of contracts signed wth separate companies.
