President José Antonio Kast (with blue tie) recently visited Environment Minister Francisca Toledo (in red blazer) and members of the ministry’s staff. (Photo courtesy of Environment Ministry)
José Antonio Kast’s inauguration in March as president of Chile clearly did not please green advocates. That’s because unlike his left-leaning predecessor, Gabriel Boric, Kast consistently portrays environmental regulations as a threat to economic growth. Indeed, it seemed fitting that just one day after donning the presidential sash, he reversed dozens of pending environmental-protection decrees that had been issued by Boric. (See "Kast moves fast to nix Boric’s pending green decrees" —EcoAméricas, March 2026.) However, Kast has since presented a more nuanced picture when it comes to climate protection and the need to embrace renewable energy. Rather than simply dismissing those goals, as fossil-fuel advocates such as Donald Trump have done, his administration has signaled its plans to pursue them as a means of attracting investment. On March 30, when a specialized committee of ministers overseeing green... [Log in to read more]
