Chile’s President Kast tosses out dozens of environmental protections

Chilean Environment Ministry suspends 43 measures touching on issues such as pollution, emissions and national parks.The new Chilean government has announced the suspension of 43 rules to safeguard the environment, as part of a pivot towards more conservative policies under newly inaugurated President Jose Antonio Kast.The Ministry of Environment said on Tuesday that it had withdrawn the decrees, which were still under review by the Comptroller General’s Office.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Chile’s new president has praised Pinochet, a dictator. What does it mean?list 2 of 3‘Big crisis’: Kast’s immigration agenda brings uncertainty to Chile’s northlist 3 of 3Israeli army sniper in Chile accused of Gaza war crimes could face justiceend of listMany were introduced in the final days of former President Gabriel Boric’s term in office. Kast was sworn in on March 11.The suspension affects rules touching on issues such as power plant emissions, smelting plant pollution and the creation of new national parks.“I understand there is concern,” Kast said. “But I would invite you to look at what the public needs: growth, environmental protection, but above all, jobs. And this is in line with that.”He indicated that reducing the unemployment rate was part of his motivation for paring back the environmental policies.“We want to create the best possible public policy regarding full employment, always respecting the environment,” he said.The Environment Ministry has also downplayed the downstream effects of repealing the rules, issuing a statement that it is “standard practice” for new administrations to update policies.“Our purpose is that each administrative act issued by the Ministry of the Environment meets the highest standards of legal quality, safeguards the wellbeing of people, and effectively protects the country’s natural heritage,” the ministry said.The far-right Kast has promised that his tenure will mark a stark departure from the policies of Boric, his leftist predecessor.