The Juntos Pelo Cercal do Alentejo (JPC) movement, in Santiago do Cacém (Setúbal), alerted this terça-feira for the “decarbonization model” that is to be followed by the Government, which will continue to “destroy vast areas of country”.
“The model has already destroyed and will continue to destroy vast areas of the national territory, if in the meantime it is not reviewed to safeguard the interests of the populations and the limits of the ecosystems,” said the representatives of the movement in a statement after a hearing in the commission. Environment and Energy of the Assembly of the Republic, in Lisbon.
In the note sent to the Lusa news agency, the civic movement, created from the announcement of the construction of a large photovoltaic solar power plant in the parish of Cercal do Alentejo, in the interior of the municipality of Santiago do Cacém, expresses its concern about the How the Government sees the European objectives of decarbonization of the economy.
For the Portuguese Government this paradigm has become absolute, disregarding the populations where it is intended to install photovoltaic mega-centrals“, criticizes the civic movement.
According to the JPC, “the current model ignores cork oak areas, the local economy more or less stabilized around activities linked to agriculture, tourism and trade and biodiversity, without even addressing the problem of desertification in regions that have been gaining tourist dimension. in recent years”.
“The minimization and compensation measures that are being proposed are “quick cures for major injuries” that are being opened throughout the national territory,” argue those responsible, considering that there is no “effective national strategy” that safeguards the interest of the population”. .
During the parliamentary hearing, the delegation also expressed its concern about the environmental impact statements of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), which have been favorable to these projects, since they are part of “compliance with the main guidelines of the Government”.
And in this way, they contribute “to the achievement of the aforementioned objectives and to the fulfillment of the commitments assumed by Portugal in the context of European policies to combat climate change,” defends the movement.
“In Portugal, photovoltaic mega power plant projects are being implemented with APA approval in a haphazard mannerwithout a strategy and without safeguarding the interests of future generations,” the statement read.
In the parliamentary committee hearing, the deputies also alluded to a study by the National Civil Engineering Laboratory (LNEC) with the aim of “identifying areas with less environmental and heritage sensitivity for the location of environmental renewable electricity production units.”
“In that [estudo] The conclusion is reached that areas where there is a risk of erosion should be excluded, as well as areas of forest interest, which surprisingly would not only be the case of the town of Cercal [do Alentejo]but also from the municipality of Santiago do Cacém”, on the Alentejo coast, they point out in the note.
Representatives of the movement, quoted in the statement, also question various aspects of the legislation that allows decisions that are not favorable to the territory and emphasize “the lack of protection of the populations.”
“In accordance with current legislation we will have vast areas of the national territory completely artificialized by the removal of the vegetation cover and the introduction of millions of photovoltaic panels” with consequences for the “landscape, soil sealing, biodiversity, destruction of economic activities already implemented, such as tourism or agriculture, and human health”, in addition to the “desertification effect”, they affirm . .
According to the statement, at the hearing, representatives of the movement expressed their “firm determination” to defend the interests of the populations of the parishes of Cercal do Alentejo and São Domingos and Vale de Água, protected by the construction of two mega photovoltaic plants. seasons, until “until the last instances of the courts”.
Source: Observadora
