Did you know that only 24 countries in the world have carbon taxes, and that Chile is one of them? According to data from Our World in Data, in Latin America, aside from Chile, only Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico have this type of tax.

That said, the tax rate in Chile is not among the highest, a fact that many experts complain about; they point out that a low emissions tax does not reflect the effects of emissions on climate change and the costs they impose on society and the economy as a whole, nor does it provide sufficiently strong incentives for reducing them. According to Our World in Data, in 2020 the price per metric ton emitted in Chile (adjusted based on the taxed sectors and the country’s total emissions) was US$2.34, well below Sweden’s US$48.81, but clearly above the rates in Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico (see table).

No Latin American country, however, has a carbon emissions market, which does operate in Canada, the United States, Europe, Kazakhstan, and—more recently and on a limited basis—in China.

Source: Our World in Data