Original article: Coalición Chao Carbón pidió «compromisos reales para una transición energética justa» a las y los candidatos presidenciales

Chao Carbón Coalition Urges Presidential Candidates to Commit to a Just Energy Transition

Amidst the ongoing debate regarding the country’s energy future, the National Coalition Chao Carbón —which includes organizations from Chile’s most affected zones— has urgently appealed to presidential candidates to include concrete commitments in their platforms for a Just Energy Transition. This transition aims to permanently end coal usage, repair accumulated environmental and social damages, and ensure an inclusive and democratic process.

Six years after the announcement of the Decarbonization Plan, the Coalition warns that despite the closure of 11 coal-fired power plants between 2019 and 2024, the energy transition is losing social legitimacy. The absence of remediation plans, weak citizen participation, and the chaotic expansion of renewable energies —which are currently giving rise to new socio-environmental conflicts— threaten to perpetuate the same injustices under a new energy model.

“We denounce that the closure of coal plants has occurred without environmental or social remediation plans in areas that have endured coal pollution for decades. Moreover, renewable energy projects are advancing without effective community planning or participation,” stated the Coalition.

The grassroots movement also criticized the lack of social and environmental solutions in the updates to the Decarbonization Plan and the platforms of current presidential candidates, which leave the commitments to justice and repair as mere rhetoric.

Facing this situation, the National Coalition Chao Carbón outlined ten priority action areas that should define the next presidential term (2026–2030): «Accelerate the complete closure of coal plants before 2035, ideally by 2030; implement remediation and environmental and social repair plans in the five historically affected municipalities, with guaranteed funding and oversight; and enhance citizen participation in local and regional energy development decisions.”

Additionally, the proposals included “advancing toward participatory and binding territorial planning; promoting community energy projects and self-consumption; rejecting false solutions like co-combustion of coal with ammonia; ensuring real funding for the National Strategy for a Just Socioecological Transition and its local plans; fostering renewable energies and complementary technologies for a zero-emission electrical system; increasing the green tax on emissions and incorporating it into the variable cost of energy; and preventing rollbacks in environmental regulations under the pretext of accelerating decarbonization.”

“The transition cannot continue to be built upon the sacrifice of the same communities. Chile needs a just energy transition, with environmental repair, social participation, and clean energy that serves the people,” emphasized the Coalition.

In conclusion, the citizen coalition reiterated that presidential proposals must include concrete actions to guarantee environmental and social justice, the definitive closure of coal operations, and the establishment of a democratic and emission-free electrical system that prioritizes the health, well-being, and rights of communities.

Download HERE the document with programmatic proposals for the presidential term 2026 – 2030 from the National Coalition Chao Carbón

Who Makes Up the National Coalition Chao Carbón?

Women in Sacrifice Zone in Resistance – Save Coronel – Huasco Without Tailings – Women for Good Living – Women in Resistance Chile – FIMA NGO – Environmental Defender NGO – Greenpeace – Terram Foundation – Inter-American Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) – Wake Up Mejillones – Dignified Tocopilla – Alert Isla Riesco – Goodbye Fish – Artyc Studio – Arteduca – One Point Five Foundation – CEUS Chile NGO – Environmental Department of COLMED Chile – Sustainable Chile Foundation – Ecosur Foundation.

The Citizen