A total of nine environmental NGOs from all over the country They demanded that the government end the “dynamics” of major transport infrastructures that ignore the climate emergency. It was announced at the beginning of 2020. They say projects to expand ports, airports and the road network collide head-to-head with the country’s committed goals of decarbonisation and combating the climate crisis.
At the conference titled ‘The policy of major transport infrastructures in Spain’ this Tuesday and organized by various NGOs in the Lower House, the parties agreed, Criticized how “the policy of major transport jobs has been removed in relation to the climate emergency”, Given that the equipping of major transport infrastructures in Spain is “much higher than in any other European country”.
These organizations state that: Spain is the EU country with the most kilometers of divided roads and motorways, the largest network of high-speed rail lines, the most airport gaps and the most unused port capacity.
Francisco Segura, spokesperson for Ecologytas en Acción, explained in his presentation that Spain has for years been the European country that has allocated the highest percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to major transport infrastructures. strong cuts in social benefits.
Segura adds that in 2009, 2.2 percent (23,000 million) of GDP was allocated to these jobs, and cuts in social benefits totaling 7,500 million euros were approved the following year.
“Concrete tsunami” over Spain
Participants in this forum explained the situation. The consequences of this “concrete tsunami”The impact on the region is the occupation of large amounts of fertile or protected land, the fragmentation of properties and ecosystems and the consequent biodiversity problems as well as pollution and noise.
He also regretted decades promoted an “unsustainable” transport model based on the consumption of fossil fuels and in the transport modes that produce the most emissions. “It is not surprising that transport in the Spanish State, as in other sectors, is the economic sector with the highest greenhouse gas emissions and cannot be reduced,” they said.
David Hoyos, professor of Quantitative Methods at the University of the Basque Country, thinks that large investments are made with very little social return and said that “with the climate emergency, economic efficiency is pushing us”. To impose strict criteria for all new transport infrastructure projects in Spain”.
Likewise, the convening organizations criticized the infrastructure expansion projects for the following reasons: promoting unsustainable mass tourism and promoting hypermobility and hyperglobalization of goods and they forget the environmental and social impacts of these actions, as well as the increase in emissions they cause.
To expand the Port of Valencia, a representative from the Port of Ciutat Commission attended the conference and listed the results of this expansion. From Terraferida, they analyzed the reflections of the Llucmajor-Campos highway in the Balearic Islands; The Zeroport platform has solved the problems of the planned expansion of Barcelona airport; and the Public, Social and Sustainable Train State Coordinator reviewed the results of the proposed railway line between Madrid-Badajoz-Lisbon.
In this sense, some these infrastructures were “associated with political corruption” through a catalog of illegal donations in exchange for works contracts by businessmen.
Misuse of New Generation funds
Despite acknowledging that investment in big business has been more moderate over the past decade, Injection of Next-Gen European funds causes resurgence of the most negative dynamics and it even regrets that projects with two negative environmental impact statements are back in operation. Projects such as the Cuenca-Teruel highway, which already have two negative environmental impact statements, are being reactivated.
callers They demand that transport policy in the Spanish State stop following the climate emergency. “This big business dynamic that only favors big construction companies must now be stopped and thought about mobility policies and services that benefit the majority of citizens without destroying our region.”
The organizers of the day are Ecologists in Action, Climate Alliance, Asturies for Climate, State Coordinator of Public, Social and Sustainable Train, Comissió Ciutat-Port, GOB, Platform Against Barajas Expansion, Terraferida, Zeroport.
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Contact details of the environment department: [email protected]