translated from Spanish: Renca joins the “Race to Zero” initiative to curb climate change

Mayor Claudio Castro participated in the webinar #CarreraHaciaElFuturo where he shared a panel with the High Level Champion COP25 of Chile, Gonzalo Muñoz; the director of the Center for Climate Science and Resilience (CR)2, Maisa Rojas; Francisco Meza, member of the Academic Council of the UC Global Change Center, ; Flavia Liberona, member of the Academic Council of the UC Global Change Center and Marcelo Mena, director of the Climate Action Center of the PUCV. The meeting was organized by CLG Chile, the Universidad del Desarrollo, the UC Center for Global Change, the Catholic University of Valparaíso and (CR)2. It aimed to showcase progress in climate action from non-state organizations through “Race to Zero” and “Race to Resilience”, globally and nationally. During his speech, the mayor of Renca, Claudio Castro referred to the actions being carried out by the municipality to mitigate the adverse effects of the environmental-climate crisis.” Faced with the impact of Climate Change, the involvement of local governments is important. In Renca we proposed to start a path of dialogue with companies and with the central level for environmental mitigation such as the green tax. We want Renca to be the first commune in Chile to start this process where local articulation is key, working with industries in a communal model that brings substantive changes, “he emphasized. For his part, Gonzalo Muñoz, High Level Champion COP25 of Chile, added that it is necessary to increase the commitments from the different sectors and called on the communal authorities to join and replicate the commitment made by the municipality of Renca.” The characteristics of Renca, its population, how the citizenry converges, the business and industrial development in the commune and what the surface of its hill implies, lead it to become a source of mitigation to the climate crisis where there are so many opportunities to converge towards sustainable development,” he added. We hope that this commitment materializes and in this way we can reach Glasgow with an increase in agreements with actors at the non-state and subnational level that help to leave, not only a greater legacy of cop 25 once we hand over to the United Kingdom the presidency in Glasgow, but mainly we have been able to land the learnings achieved in these 2 years leading the COP and that this is reflected in a commitment of initiatives applicable to the municipality of Renca and that we hope to replicate other municipal authorities of our country”, said Muñoz.From the municipality of Renca they point out that, as members of the Chilean Network of Municipalities facing Climate Change, it has joined local and national efforts in this area, whose challenge is to provide support to communities so that they are resilient to the impacts of the environmental crisis and together, to address measures that contribute to the mitigation of this phenomenon that constitutes one of the main threats to the development and well-being of populations and territories. In this way, the planning work is central to incorporate these challenges in the different instruments recognized in the law such as the Communal Regulatory Plan (PRC) and the Communal Development Plan (PLADECO) that guide the development of green infrastructure and ecosystems so that they provide protection against natural disasters, provide well-being and quality of life to the population.

Original source in Spanish