The non-green effects of “going green”: Local environmental and economic consequences of lithium extraction in Chile

In this paper, we analyze the local environmental and economic impacts of lithium extraction in the Atacama Salt Flat (ASF) inChile. We use satellite data to estimate the effects on vegetation at a resolution of 30m × 30m as well as on the local human populations at a resolution of 100m × 100m near the ASF. We compare changes over time in NDVI and human settlements and show how they are affected by exposure to lithium extraction. Our estimates suggest that an increase of 1 standard deviation in our measure of exposure to lithium extraction reduced vegetation in nearby areas by 0.09 standard deviations, and specifically inhuman settlements by 0.22 standard deviations. Also, human populations in the local villages were reduced by 0.04 standard deviations for 1 standard deviation closer to the ASF. Further, we show that the negative effect on NDVI was greater for thoselocations with higher levels of vegetation at baseline.