Peru's New President Will Lower Environmental Standards

[Judi Lynn]

Seventy percent of unresolved social conflicts in Peru are believed to be due to environmental issues related to extractive industries.
January 29, 2020 by EcoWatch



Seventy percent of unresolved social conflicts in Peru are believed to be due to environmental issues related to extractive industries.

President elect Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, a former executive of a number of multinational corporations, announced Thursday he will seek to reduce environmental standards on metal refineries to boost the Peruvian economy. Kuczynski argued that current emission standards are too demanding, resulting in a lack of new foundries being built in the country.

Peru currently restricts sulfur dioxide emissions, a byproduct of smelting copper and other base metals. Such regulations are set by the Ministry of the Environment under control of the executive and do not need congressional approval for changes. Seventy percent of unresolved social conflicts in Peru are believed to be due to environmental issues related to extractive industries and a great deal of those result in violent confrontations.

“I believe that simply promoting the industrialization of the metals, mining exports can increase their value by 25 percent,” Kuczynski argued at an entrepreneurs meeting in Ica, in the south of Peru. He also claimed that Peru could become a regional hub for refining metals with the help of China and “the right environmental standards are needed because current ones are unrealistic.”

More:
https://goodmenproject.com/environment-2/perus-new-president-will-lower-environmental-standards/