The 2027 Budget Bill under discussion in Congress cuts the budget line through which the Ministry of the Environment funds climate change work and the NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution, Chile's international climate commitments) by 57%. The figure appears in an analysis column published by BioBioChile, which uses figures from the Budget Directorate.
The text comes just days after the mudslide on Thursday, October 8, in San Carlos de Apoquindo, in Las Condes. A bus was swept down General Blanche by the mud, with passengers on its roof. The municipality was declared a disaster zone, and six people were injured, including a one-year-old child.
It was the second time Quebrada Honda had overflowed in eight months. In June, academics at Catholic University had warned that a mudslide was imminent because of the watershed burned in the summer fire and the El Niño phenomenon. Pablo Allard, dean of Architecture at the University of Development, said the fire and the February and October rains "are clearly not normal" and linked them to climate change.
The government itself acknowledged the change. The following day, Undersecretary for Regional Development Sebastián Figueroa said that "our country's climate conditions have changed".
To understand the debate, it helps to distinguish between two types of response. Adaptation means the drainage systems, nets, barriers and radars that protect you from the impact. Mitigation tackles the cause by reducing gas emissions. The column argues that this second part is precisely what the bill hits hardest.
The figures are as follows. The Ministry of Energy's budget falls by 11.8%. Support for nonconventional renewable energy, such as solar and wind, is halved. The Energy Efficiency Agency loses 30%. The program to replace wood-burning stoves in the south falls by 47%.
By contrast, the transfer to ENAP (National Petroleum Company) to offset the price of gas in Magallanes falls by 15%, but remains the Energy Ministry's largest budget item, at $61,650 million, close to half the ministry's budget. The state would thus spend several times more on subsidizing a fossil fuel than on its entire policy to end dependence on them. The author acknowledges the social purpose of that assistance, but argues that the renewable energy potential of the far south offers other options.
The analysis also recalls that President José Antonio Kast did not mention climate change in his first annual address. Minister of the Environment Francisca Toledo avoided stating that humans cause global warming and said that "there are differing views". After the mudslide, Toledo announced that she would formally request that regional governments and municipalities report their progress on climate action plans.
The columnist adds an argument about household finances. In June, the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) projected that Chile would grow by just 1.7%, citing higher energy costs following the jump in oil prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East as the primary reason. Put simply, if you depend on imported fuels, every distant war raises your bills.
The debate also has a political side. According to Diario Financiero, this is Kast's first budget, and the governing coalition defends it as a commitment to fiscal responsibility. The opposition, lacking clear leadership, is looking for figures in the joint subcommittees chaired by Senators Yasna Provoste (DC) and Paulina Vodanovic (PS).
There is a limit here. The Constitution only allows lawmakers to reduce spending, never to increase it. The only way to restore climate funding is therefore for La Moneda to change its proposal.
Time is running short. In less than a month, Chile will arrive at COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, to report on its NDC and the Framework Law on Climate Change, which sets carbon neutrality for 2050. Congress has until the end of November to pass the budget.
