We attended the Seminar, where we listened to the interesting interventions of , , , and , , , to end the day with a panel of experts that included , . To open her presentation, the Minister highlighted that Chile meets 7 of the 9 criteria of vulnerability to climate change: we have low coasts, which makes us prone to floods; vast arid and semi-arid areas that increase with desertification; forest areas, which are prone to fires; propensity to natural disasters; urban areas with high atmospheric pollution; and mountainous areas, which generate risk of alluvium due to melting ice. Therefore, he said, the to generate a solution, since we are at a turning point because the public is feeling the problems of global warming first hand and is demanding concrete actions to deal with it. Therefore, the strategy is to take advantage of those same natural conditions of our country that generate vulnerability, and transform them into opportunities for growth and development. How? By taking advantage of the fact that Chilean nature offers us the greatest source of renewable energies: solar, thanks to the Atacama Desert; wind, due to the strength of our sea; and geothermal, all clean energies to use and export to other countries. In addition, we have the capacity to generate inputs, such as copper and lithium, to promote electromobility; a lot of access to water, being a country with a long coastline, and large forests that allow us to absorb greenhouse gases. For her part, the scientist Maisa Rojas, highlighted the . For example, she emphasized that the initiative to maintain warming at -1.5 degrees is a fundamental conversation, since lowering half a degree implies less extreme weather for people to live in (less heat waves and extreme precipitation), implies -by 2100- saving a sea level change of 10 cm, implying less flooding, especially in small islands; in addition, and also represents 50% less people exposed to water shortages. The goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% over the next decade and to 0% by 2050. This requires changes in technology, but also changes in the behavior of each of us. During the expert panel discussion, it was highlighted that all efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change bring with them an enormous amount of synergy to solve other problems, such as poverty, inequalities, deprivation, etc. In this sense, Minister Schmidt stated that “we need to change the economic model to generate a new economy that is capable of meeting the needs of human beings while respecting the limits of the planet… And the conditions are still in place for this enormous change to be possible”. Gonzalo Muñoz warned that “acting in time will present us with a path towards sustainable development, since we are at a point where the problem is evident and we are beginning to care… we have to make this problem matter to us above all others”. Finally, Marisa Rojas highlighted the scientific work being carried out, with 7 working groups and the permanent relationship with the Ministry of the Environment. A process of great learning, which has mobilized almost 500 scientists to work ad honorem, supporting working groups with workshops and meetings.
According to him, “an unprecedented measure for a small country, which does not have so many scientists in the public apparatus, with a system that will allow evidence-based decision making”. Finally, it is important to highlight that the COP25 Citizen Agenda includes massive events, talks, participation of universities, etc., with a climate action agenda with concrete actions (forestation, beach cleaning, circular economy) and a .
