Nobel Prize of Chemistry, Mario Molina, spoke on climate change with Peñalolén students in 100% electric bus

Published on Wednesday, 26 September 2018

  • Students had the opportunity to learn about climate change and how it affects human life, and also experience the first electric bus route in Latin America, where 100 electric buses will operate in eight districts of the capital, including Peñalolén, as of next December.

 

Santiago, September 26, 2018 -   With the aim of experiencing electric mobility, the Mexican professor Mario Molina - Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995 - made a tour of the city in a 100% electric bus with students from the Matilde Huici Navas de Peñalolén School and the mayor of Peñalolén and president of the ACHM Transportation Committee, Carolina Leitao.

On the occasion, the students were instructed by Professor Molina about the implications of climate change and how it affects human life, in addition to experiencing Latin America’s first electric bus route, where 100 electric buses will circulate, in eight districts of the capital, including Peñalolén, as of December of this year.

"One of the fundamental pillars of Enel X is related to contributing to the solution of relevant issues affecting cities such as decontamination, for which it has strongly promoted electric mobility, based on clean, efficient, and lower-priced energy in comparison with other fuels", explained Nicola Cotugno, Enel Chile’s CEO.

After answering various queries from secondary students regarding the ozone layer, the greenhouse effect, and the contribution of clean technologies, Professor Mario Molina, Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995, commented that "it seems very important to me that Chile is promoting electric mobility because it is an example, especially for Latin America, as we in Mexico are trying to do something similar. The issue of electrification is an important issue and at the same time we are worried that this electrification will be done with renewable energies. The example of Chile is very important to be able to explain what can be done."

He also commented that "there is no longer the excuse that it would cost too much to buy electric buses, because, for example, in China they are already producing them at competitive prices and that will improve even more, so, at a given moment, to anticipate what other countries are going to do is going to imply more favorable economic development, so it seems very wise to me.”

For the mayor of Peñalolén and president of the ACHM Transport commission, Carolina Leitao, "Since Peñalolén is a pioneer district in the incentive of new clean technologies and environmental education of the community, we are proud to receive Professor Molina to teach us how it works and what the contribution of electric transport is for our community and for the whole city.”

The mayor added that "the first Transantiago electric buses are already circulating in Peñalolén and with great success. Thanks to that experience, the preference and care of our neighbors, we will be one of the first municipalities to have an electric bus line."