For some observers, the administration\u2019s position on climate change has, however, verged on outright denial. \u201cFor the government, the denial of climate change never ends up being central, but they still play around the idea,\u201d says Elisabeth M\u00f6hle, a climate policy researcher at the Fundar think-tank. Milei and his foreign minister Diana Mondino have repeatedly cast doubt<\/a> on climate change, as well as questioning<\/a> the UN\u2019s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such statements from officials have not only raised concerns over the direction of Argentina\u2019s domestic environmental policy, but also over the impacts this may have on the international stage, and the country\u2019s commitments to global climate action. \u201cAny volatile government generates uncertainty, not only in the markets but also in multilateral, bilateral, international and regional organisations,\u201d says Sandra Guzm\u00e1n<\/a>, founder of the Climate Finance Group for Latin America and the Caribbean (GFLAC). With the new administration, she adds, \u201cthe world\u2019s players are waiting to see what is going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vidal de Lamas says that, at least for the time being, the direction of Argentina\u2019s climate policy will be determined by the global agenda. She says that they are open to maintaining a similar line to the one that preceded them, but with some adjustments \u2013 including not promoting any policy associated with the 2030 Agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the under-secretary of environment assured that Argentina will present the next update to its climate action plan under the 2015 Paris Agreement, known as a nationally determined contribution (NDC), which is due by February 2025<\/a>. This will be Argentina\u2019s third update to its NDC, with its second rated as \u201ccritically insufficient\u201d by monitoring platform Climate Action Tracker.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n If it does not follow through on its climate commitments, experts say the Milei government risks losing access to markets such as the European Union<\/a>, which has introduced increasingly stringent environmental rules for its imports, as well as access to sources of funding from multilateral organisations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExternally, Argentina has everything to lose,\u201d says Enrique Maurtua Konstantinidis, a senior climate policy consultant who has worked with local and international organisations. \u201cIt seems to me that being in the framework of the negotiations is a great benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite the doubts that have arisen given the new president\u2019s statements, the consultant says that Argentina\u2019s message to the world remains that it \u201cwill not break any agreement\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While attending the UN COP28 climate summit<\/a> in 2023, just days ahead of the Milei government\u2019s inauguration, the country\u2019s lead negotiator, Marcia Levaggi \u2013 now under-secretary for foreign policy of the foreign ministry \u2013 tried to allay fears of an exit<\/a> from the Paris Agreement. During June\u2019s inter-sessional negotiations in Bonn, Germany \u2013 a key climate meeting on the way to COP29 \u2013 Argentina was the lead representative<\/a> of the G77 + China group of developing nations in discussions over climate finance. And so far, there is no indication of any intention of breaking off relations with Grupo Sur<\/a>, a negotiating block which, in addition to including Uruguay and Paraguay, forces collaboration on climate change with Brazil, at a time of diplomatic tension<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Vidal de Lamas, the country\u2019s course towards COP29 and COP30<\/a> in 2025 will be maintained on the same basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite Argentina\u2019s commitments, so far, the roadmap towards fulfilling them is unclear. The climate portfolio is currently divided between three ministries: the foreign ministry, the economy ministry, and the chief of cabinet. The prominent names on these issues are those of three women: Corina Lehmann, director for Environmental Affairs; Mariela Beljansky, under-secretary for energy planning and transition; and Vidal de Lamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every Thursday, inter-ministerial meetings take place in which these three officials usually meet. They reportedly share their agendas on climate issues and give each other feedback, also inviting members of other portfolios to start integrating their initiatives on specific issues in a cross-cutting manner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even so, little is known today about how both the National Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Plan<\/a> and the 2030 plan for the energy transition<\/a> will be implemented. Designed during the last government, the actions set out in these plans are central to Argentina\u2019s attempts to meet international targets. Vidal de Lamas explains that, by law, these documents must be respected. \u201cThat does not detract from the fact that we will make adjustments according to the philosophy of this new government,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The implementation of these plans has been a focus for both the National Climate Change Cabinet \u2013 a cross-ministry panel created in 2016 \u2013 and the External Advisory Council \u2013 set up in 2009 to enable civil society participation in climate issues \u2013 but there has also been no formal announcement over whether these bodies will continue to convene under the new administration. According to the government, this is due to a purely administrative issue that they expect to be resolved in the coming months. \u201cGuillermo Francos [the current chief of cabinet] will convene it shortly,\u201d Vidal de Lamas explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, during the government\u2019s bumpy first few months, environmental departments are said to have faced uncertainty amid the change of administration and structure, with dismissals and resignations also reportedly proliferating. Members and ex-members of the under-secretariat for the environment, who asked not to be identified, told Dialogue Earth that the overall feeling during the first months of Milei\u2019s administration has been a lack of direction on the country\u2019s climate policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n M\u00f6hle stresses that the reduction of staff in technical work, both at home and in international negotiations, can lead to a bottleneck in management. Vidal de Lamas acknowledges that they are doing \u201cthe same work with fewer people\u201d and that so far it has been difficult to \u201cset out the lines\u201d of this work. She attributes this to the process of intense restructuring of ministries launched by the government upon taking office, and sees as a turning point the so-called Ley de Bases<\/a>, or \u201cbase law\u201d, a controversial legislative package that lays out a wide-ranging deregulation of the state, which passed into law in early July.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow that it has been approved, it\u2019s like the door has been opened. The things that were stuck are going to come out,\u201d claims Vidal de Lamas. \u201cI couldn\u2019t talk about the work of a four-year under-secretariat when all the government\u2019s actions were conditional on the approval of this law,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Ley de Bases has faced criticism<\/a> over the potential impacts it could bring for environmental protection in Argentina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the main concerns<\/a> of the environmental sector relates to the inclusion in the law of the Large Investment Incentive Scheme \u2013 RIGI, by its Spanish acronym. This measure<\/a> will grant tax, customs and tariff exemptions, as well as possible fiscal stability promises for up to 30 years, for investments exceeding USD 200 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Preferential sectors under this scheme include forestry, tourism, infrastructure, mining, technology, steel, energy, oil and gas. But in addition to these incentives, some environmental organisations have also expressed fears regarding the deregulation of markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vidal de Lamas explains that the regulation of natural resources is strictly the responsibility of Argentina\u2019s provinces, who maintain ownership of them under the country\u2019s constitution \u2013 for example, lithium<\/a> in the country\u2019s north, or vast oil and gas reserves<\/a> in the province of Neuqu\u00e9n. However, she says the government will push for national-level legislation to set common standards on forestry, green hydrogen and mining. \u201cNot for hydrocarbons,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the environment under-secretariat is responsible for promoting the oversight of activities that have environmental impacts, previous statements have raised doubts over its potential performance in this regard. In an interview<\/a> at the end of May, Vidal de Lamas said that \u201cwe will allow all offshore hydrocarbon projects\u201d. She told Dialogue Earth that the body\u2019s role is to handle environmental impact assessments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are always a step ahead in asking for things [in evaluations], but we are not going to be a stumbling block,\u201d says the under-secretary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The national congress, meanwhile, is at a standstill on climate and environmental issues. In its lower chamber, a new Natural Resources and Human Environment committee has been formed, chaired by Milei\u2019s La Libertad Avanza party, while in the senate, the previously existing Environment and Sustainable Development committee continues, now presided by the Cambio Federal opposition coalition. Since Milei took office, both committees have met only once.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carlos D\u2019Alessandro, chairman of the committee in the lower chamber and a lawmaker from Milei\u2019s party, told Dialogue Earth that the delay has been because of the discussions of the Ley de Bases. \u201cMy two main objectives will be to pass a law on [plastic] packaging and a law on wetlands,\u201d he says. When asked about climate policies, he says the committee will do their best to work on them, while adhering to his party\u2019s positions on the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Milei government will be looking to Argentina\u2019s provinces and industries to take the lead on climate change mitigation and adaptation policies, according to Vidal de Lamas. The government, she says, will act as an articulator and promoter of this, promoting measures that aim to encourage investment and hopefully lead, for example, to greater investment in projects that promote the energy transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The energy secretariat, the under-secretariat for the environment and the foreign ministry are said to be working in tandem to comply with international agreements in this regard. The government has said<\/a> that it will move forward this year with a regulatory framework to support green hydrogen, and has also alluded in draft versions<\/a> of the Ley de Bases to the creation of a market for carbon credits, with emissions quotas for different sectors of the economy. Vidal de Lamas told Dialogue Earth this still remains on their agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\nDespite the discourse<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Javier](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Javier-Milei_toma-de-mando_Argentina_Alamy_2TC5449.jpg\")
<\/div>Implementation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Investments and environment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Man](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Argentina-lithium-plant-worker_Alamy_2E9N2WG-1.jpg\")
<\/div>![\"a](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/A-protester-calls-for-a-\u2018wetlands-law-now-in-front-of-the-national-congress-in-Buenos-Aires_Carolina-Jaramillo-Castro_Alamy_2JRYDPM.jpg\")
<\/div>Adaptation, mitigation and finance<\/h2>\n\n\n\n