Chile owns the biggest fleet of electric buses in Latin America and the Caribbean today. The 200 e-buses hit the road earlier this year in the capital city, Santiago, as part of a plan to cut emissions and reduce air pollution. By 2040, Chile aims to convert its public transport system to an all-electric fleet.
“To decisively confront climate change, electromobility is critical. We are taking a leap towards a cleaner, more efficient and sustainable transport system,” says Carolina Schmidt, Minister of Environment of Chile and President of the UN Climate Change Conference COP25.
In December, the country will host the COP25 and lead one of the most challenging negotiations of our times: to try to get more ambitious commitments to reduce emissions from countries around the world, to keep global warming under the 1.5°C threshold.
Sustainable transport is critical for climate action, but also key to protect citizens’ health. Each electric bus can avoid up to 60 tonnes of carbon emissions every year.
In Chile, air pollution causes at least 4,000 premature deaths every year, while 10 million Chileans are exposed daily to levels of fine particulate matter above the World Health Organization standards, according to official figures.
A 2017 study by UN Environment estimates that the transition towards an all-electric taxi and bus fleet in Santiago would avoid 1,379 premature deaths by 2030.
At a country level, tackling air pollution would bring annual health benefits amounting to US$8 billion dollars, according to the Ministry of Environment of Chile.
Public electric mobility is booming in other parts of Latin America too. Guayaquil, Ecuador’s most populated city, launched in March 2019 a fleet of 20 electric buses that will transport 10,500 users every day. In Colombia, the city of Cali will complete a 125-unit fleet this year, while Medellin already bought 64 e-buses.
“Chile owns the biggest fleet of electric buses in Latin America and the Caribbean today. The 200 e-buses hit the road earlier this year in the capital city, Santiago, as…”