Chile

Why Chile Excels In Sustainability

Chile performs well in Industry 5.0 readiness thanks to a strong track record in sustainability and resilience. That includes establishing a new green hydrogen industry, offering friendly policies for next-gen innovations, and creating environmental protections.

Sustainability

Why Chile is a green patent hub

Chile has had a streamlined process for new sustainability-related patents since 2023. This process has reduced the time it takes for entrepreneurs to receive a patent by up to a third, enabling them to bring solutions to market faster. Technologies that offer alternative fuels, or contribute to a circular economy by reusing waste or finding new uses for seawater or wastewater, are among those that may be eligible for the simpler process.

Accelerated processes for clean tech patents puts Chile on par with more mature economies that have similar initiatives, like the United Kingdom, South Korea, and Japan, as well as regional peers like Brazil.

Chile’s government collaborates with the private sector in both biodiversity and green hydrogen

Chile is effective in engaging all businesses — not just startups and entrepreneurs — in promoting nature-positive economies. The Chilean government in 2025 published a Business Action Plan on Biodiversity, which outlined the private sector’s role in incorporating biodiversity into its strategies and operations. Key to this value proposition for businesses is the clear communication of how biodiversity-friendly companies can mitigate risks and build stakeholder trust.

Representatives from the private sector are also on the government’s advisory council to establish a green hydrogen industry by 2030. With swaths of land to use for new infrastructure in remote regions, Chile projects its green hydrogen export market reaching $24 billion by 2050 — a scale similar to the country’s mining industry, which comprises 60% of its exports and 12% of GDP.

As of April 2025, seven green hydrogen projects totaling $25 billion in investment are in ongoing permit processes from the Chilean government, with several projects totaling $63 billion in investment expected to apply for permits.

Chile invests in environmental protection

The government created the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Service in 2023 to address environmental crises posed by climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. As part of the initiative, the nation’s annual budget allocated to environmental institutions increased by nearly 60% and the number of park rangers doubled. The plan also provided incentives for private areas dedicated to conservation with measures such as tax exemptions.

In 2025, the government launched a four-year, $5.3 million initiative to reverse nature loss and enable faster climate change responses. And at COP26, Chile committed to the recovery and afforestation of a combined 400,000 hectares of forests, and to evaluate wetland and peatland areas for climate change adaption by 2030.