Uruguay adds one more project in pursuit of the environment and that has to do with a law that criminally punish crimes that affect the environmentthis would be added to the government’s plan to promote sustainable development and Environmental care in the country.
The Chamber of Senators approved last week a bill, composed of 13 articles, which establishes penalties for environmental crimes for contamination of water, air and soil by residues, substances or hazardous waste, among others. The project establishes sentences of between 6 months and 8 years in penitentiary and awaits the approval of the Chamber of Deputies.
As explained by the Undersecretary of the Environment, Gerardo Amarillato Radio Carve, the project dates its creation from 2015 when it was proposed to include within the Penal Code a chapter of Environmental Crimesbased on previous proposals that were given since 2002 by different authorities.
Prior to that year of the project, Uruguay had developed a lot of legislation from the environmental point of view in the field of administrative law with the Environmental Impact Law, with the administrative sanctions provided by law, the General Law of the Environment and the Law of the National System of Protected Areas.
According to Amarilla, when it comes to applying sanctions to companies or establishments that pollute, the municipalities are crucial to access the place since the Ministry of Environment it does not have all the resources to deal with all cases. The undersecretary of the portfolio explained that a 80% of the cases that contaminate spaces are exposedalthough not all of them end up being fined.
How many complaints did the Ministry of Environment have in 2022?
During the year 2022, the Ministry of the Environment received 848 environmental complaints. According to a report from Ministry of Environmentbetween January and November they received 848 environmental complaints and 194 of them were made anonymously, that is, 23% of the total. According to the portfolio, these types of complaints are very normal in the area and can be seen on the online complaints platform where at least 2 complaints per day.
According to the report, in 96% of the cases some measure was taken, although they do not specify which one. Among the reasons for the complaints is, mainly, the management of waste with 13%, at coast with 10%, at fauna also with 10% and at discharge of tributaries and odors that provoke with 9%.
The municipalities with the most complaints are cannelloni with 217 complaints, Montevideo with 181 and maldonado with 114. Then follow Cerro Largo with 63, Rocha with 57, Artigas with 51 and Paysandú with 32.
An economy around the environment
Uruguay stands out for creating an economic plan around the importance of sustainable development and care for the environment. Among the measures that coincide with this objective are, firstly, the creation of the Bond Indexed to Climate Change Indicators(BIICC, SBL for its acronym in English).
The BIICC was launched last year by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) to give the country access to the sustainable sovereign finance market and thus achieve an alternative approach to the debt financing linked to sustainability.
Another recently announced measure is the program of the Tourist Green Stamp (STV) that seeks to promote the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in Uruguayan accommodation establishments, while trying to promote tourism initiatives that support the sector and use the sustainable development as a tool.
On the other hand, in relation to meat production, one of the strong economic activities in Uruguay, but at the same time one of the industries that pollutes the most worldwide, the program was created. Livestock and Climate in the year 2022.
This allowed the production of beef in the Uruguay increased a 8% and sheep 17%, reducing 7% total emissions and a 18% emissions from meat production.
Source: Ambito
