April 13, 2023

Cristián Araya, lawyer at the Center for Energy Transition (CENTRA) of the Faculty of Engineering and Sciences, UAI.

Recently, voices have been raised in various fields advocating the importance of proper territorial planning, with an emphasis on the energy and infrastructure industries. For some, the mere mention of the term brings back harsh memories of inefficient centralized planning, often conducted from an office by bureaucrats with little connection to reality.

That specter is certainly not what is being sought. Contemporary, efficient, and lasting planning is based on an open dialogue of public-private partnership (PPP), ensuring public needs and the common good, but grounded in information, data, and real experience about the functioning and risks of each industry, contributed by science and the private sector.

In a context where increasing investment and consolidating employment are urgently needed, this dialogue seems even more critical in sectors where project development and land use may face significant challenges. This is even more pressing given the state’s goal, endorsed by the Climate Change Law (LMCC), to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and the commitment to implement the SDGs.

A territorial planning approach based on PPP will help reduce uncertainties and consider long-term goals while also aligning criteria and coordinating the actions of various state administration entities.

Facilitating regulations already exist. We have a National Territorial Planning Policy (PNOT) in force since 2021, developed by a broad inter-ministerial commission – Minvu, Interior, MOP, Energy, MMA, Economy, among others – whose objective is to guide the actions of the state and private actors in shaping a harmonious, integrated, and safe territory, and to promote sustainable development. It serves as the coordinating framework for policies, plans, and instruments to steer and coordinate initiatives with territorial impact. In this way, the PNOT acts as a guiding framework for all instruments related to the territory (national-regional-local), with two of its strategic pillars being the economic-productive system and the infrastructure system.

The recent announcements by authorities regarding the advancement of the legislative agenda could be an excellent opportunity to address this urgent matter.

See news at: Revista EI