Environmental licensing developments in Chile and Colombia

Chile's Environmental Evaluation Service (SEA) reported a record quarterly investment approval of US$19.514 billion between July and September 2026. The approved projects primarily span the energy, real estate, and environmental sanitation sectors. In September alone, 28 projects were approved across various regions, including Tarapacá, Metropolitana, and La Araucanía.

In Colombia, the Ministry of Environment has proposed reforms to the environmental licensing system to accelerate the evaluation of infrastructure and production projects. Minister Fabio Arjona stated the goal is to reduce transaction costs and response times by modulating technical requirements based on the actual scale and impact of each activity.

The Colombian proposal also includes restructuring the 33 Regional Autonomous Corporations (CAR) to improve institutional response times. Additionally, the government plans to reform the carbon tax, aiming to direct 100% of the revenue toward reforestation and ecological restoration projects to incentivize private sector investment.