Southern Cone infra, environment watch

CHILE

The recent COP26 summit in Glasgow proved that businesses can be part of the climate change solution instead of the problem but to do so they will have to address their credibility issues, according to the legal affairs and sustainability head of Chilean home improvement retail chain Sodimac, Juan Carlos Corvalán. 

The firm plans to present its 2030 carbon-neutrality plan by June, and it is being drawn up in line with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI), Corvalán said.

“It’s not the same to present my financial statements in a calculus sheet than submit them under FECU [used in Chile] or IFRS [International Financial Reporting Standards] parameters, with external accountants and audits,” he said during a webinar held by CSR news outlet ComunicarSe, which analyzed the results of the Glasgow summit. 

Corvalán said the bottom line of COP26 is “if we stay on the current path, this won’t work, and this is not [just] a problem for important dignitaries, presidents or diplomats on the world stage, it’s a problem for businesses and we have an active role to play.”

ARGENTINA

A new trust fund set up by the federal and Tierra del Fuego governments will provide 40bn pesos (US$396mn) for infrastructure, energy and water projects in the southern province over the next 10 years.

The financing will be evenly split between the two parties, Tierra del Fuego governor Gustavo Melella was quoted as saying by daily El Destape.

Some of the projects that will be financed through the mechanism, dubbed the Austral II trust fund, include expanding a hospital in provincial capital Ushuaia, as well as an energy distribution center in the same city and port infrastructure works, according to the Tierra del Fuego government’s website.

PARAGUAY

Work on a 90.5bn-guaraní (US$13mn) road paving project linking the departments of Guairá and Caaguazú (pictured) is expected to be finished by March, according to public works minister Arnoldo Wiens. 

The contract, which was awarded to DC Ingeniería, involves 27.2km between the districts of Cora Guazú (Guairá) and Walter Insfrán, plus a 4.1km stretch to connect to the PY07 highway, the public works ministry (MOPC) said in a release.

The project was part of a 205bn-guaraní tender that included four contracts to pave 123km of roads in eastern departments.