Climate change and urban-territorial planning in Chile

Abstract

At an international level, the first document to recognize climate change (CC) was the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Its objective was to stabilize greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference in the climate system. This implied preventing food production from being threatened and ensuring sustainable economic development. The Kyoto Protocol (1997) activated the UNFCCC by committing industrialized countries to limiting and keeping greenhouse gas emissions below committed individual targets. The imposed targets assumed an average reduction of 5% in emissions compared to 1990 levels over the 2008-2012 five-year period. Today, the international community is governed by the legally binding Paris Agreement (2015), which aims to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. In 2020, all the signatory countries, including Chile, presented their climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).