Delayed and Approved: A Quantitative Study of Conflicts and the Environmental Impact Assessments of Energy Projects in Chile 2012–2017

Sebastián Huneeus, Sergio Toro, Juan Pablo Luna, Diego Sazo, Andrés Cruz, Daniel Alcatruz, Bryan Castillo, Camila Bertranou and Javier Cisterna
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Sebastián Huneeus: Millennium Institute for Foundational Research on Data, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Sergio Toro: Millennium Institute for Foundational Research on Data, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Juan Pablo Luna: Millennium Institute for Foundational Research on Data, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Diego Sazo: Millennium Institute for Foundational Research on Data, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Andrés Cruz: Millennium Institute for Foundational Research on Data, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Daniel Alcatruz: Millennium Institute for Foundational Research on Data, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Bryan Castillo: Millennium Institute for Foundational Research on Data, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Camila Bertranou: Millennium Institute for Foundational Research on Data, Santiago 7820436, Chile
Javier Cisterna: Millennium Institute for Foundational Research on Data, Santiago 7820436, Chile

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 13, 1-13

Abstract: The Sistema de Evaluación de Impacto Ambiental (Environmental Impact Assessment System—SEIA) evaluates all projects potentially harmful to human health and the environment in Chile. Since its establishment, many projects approved by the SEIA have been contested by organized communities, especially in the energy sector. The question guiding our research is whether socio-environmental conflicts affect the evaluation times and the approval rates of projects under assessment. Using a novel database comprising all energy projects assessed by the SEIA, we analyzed 380 energy projects that entered the SEIA review process between 2012 and 2017 and matched these projects with protest events. Using linear and logit regression, we find no association between the occurrence of protests aimed at specific projects and the probability of project approval. We do, however, find that projects associated with the occurrence of protest events experience significantly longer review times. To assess the robustness of this finding, we compare two run-of-river plants proposed in Mapuche territory in Chile’s La Araucanía region. We discuss the broader implications of these findings for sustainable environmental decision making.

Keywords: environmental conflicts; environmental politics; environmental impact assessment; social movements; energy projects; Chilean politics; Latin American politics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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