Sustainability

Climate adaptation and mitigation, resilience, circular economy, renewable energy, sustainable cities: topics high on the agenda on a global scale and for which global solutions are being sought. Five years ago, the United Nations established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and reaching these goals is crucial in creating a liveable planet. In Paris in 2015 an agreement was reached to limit the Countries have submitted their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Climate Agreement to outline their commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen resilience to climate change. Chile and the Netherlands are both countries with active and ambitious commitments to these goals and contribute to the solutions in different ways. A close cooperation between our countries on public, private and academic level supports the development and implementation of effective, efficient and innovative solutions

The Netherlands is strongly committed to the Paris Agreement. Our National Climate Act states that the Netherlands needs to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 49% in 2030 and by 95% in 2050. Our national ambition on circular economy is to have a fully circular economy by 2050. And so, sustainability is a main driver of what the Netherlands has to offer in Chile. It is a cross cutting theme of our activities in other sectors (water, ports & logistics, agriculture).

One of the key aspects in fighting and adapting to climate change is working towards a Circular Economy. This new business model not only helps to mitigate the impact of climate change by using less resources and generating less emissions, it is also convincing from an economic standpoint, and creates opportunities for both large established and small start-up companies. Chile has developed multiple initiatives that support the national strategy on Circular Economy, such as Extended Producer Responsibility, a Plastic Pact, and a Circular Economy Roadmap. There are many opportunities in this area, particularly in Waste Management, Agriculture and Water. Looking at Waste Management the recycling rate in Chile is still very low, only 2% of municipal solid waste, whereas The Netherlands is sending only 2% of municipal waste to landfills. Building on opportunities in packaging, recycling, waste-to-energy, eco-design and more would accelerate the transition towards a Circular Economy.

Due to its geography with the hot and dry Atacama Desert in the North and the numerous lakes and glaciers in the South, Chile could be considered a natural laboratory when it comes to solar, wind and hydraulic energy. When applied to the production of hydrogen Chile is a very promising source of Green Hydrogen, one of the focus points of the Chilean government. The Netherlands has a strong track record in renewable energy and is currently experimenting with (green) hydrogen initiatives already on a commercial scale.

Cities worldwide are getting denser. More traffic adds greater pressure on public space. At the same time, cities need more green areas, less congestion and less pollution to improve the environment and decrease the level of air pollution, enrich biodiversity and to improve the water storage issues in cities. Chile has several cities that experience these challenges, in particular the capital Santiago but also larger cities throughout the country. Being one of the most densely populated countries in the world, the Netherlands has always found ways to make optimal use of all its land and come up with sustainable solutions. Thanks to multi-functional design, the use of advanced technology and smart transportation, Dutch smart and sustainable city concepts are known to be integrated and circular. By combining (new) technologies within our current infrastructure, the Netherlands is (re)developing large scale neighbourhoods that contribute to climate efforts thereby enhancing the quality of life of our citizens. Creating circular concepts for sustainable cities requires a new approach in managing the ‘key resources’, such as remaining worldwide stocks of natural resources, energy, space and irreplaceable organisms, an approach that keeps the natural circular system of cleaning up and reusing running.

Thanks to the collaboration of public and private sectors and the research community, the Netherlands has become a living lab for key enabling technologies. Dutch initiatives are often a result of co-creation the government, private sector, academic institutions and citizens, where each party plays a certain role: