NEE/TEN Conference, a real Energy Plan for Navarra
On 3 September the Official Bulletin of Navarre published the announcement by the Government of Navarre announcing the update of the Navarre Energy Plan. This should be an important step for the future of our community, taking into account the importance of energy and its use for the sustainability of our society.
The participatory process is almost unnoticed. As a sign of the interest this generates, we can review the news published since then by the Department of Industry and Ecological Transition. Counsellor Irujo has only mentioned the energy plan and updated it a couple of times.
However, we must not forget that energy production and consumption have a decisive impact on issues such as climate change, the loss of ecosystems and species of fauna and flora, the progressive scarcity of material resources... Governments around the world seem to be "involved" in what is known as the "energy transition", but the scientific and technical data on its evolution do not seem very satisfactory.
For example, analyzing the documentation of the new version of the Navarra Energy Plan, it is observed that for more than 10 years the energy consumption in Navarre has been increasing, including that of fossil fuels, which accounts for 79.31% of the total primary energy consumed in Navarre, according to the Plan. The same is true for greenhouse gas emissions, which in 2021 have increased to 6.9 million Tn CO2-eq, very close to the peak achieved in 2005 (7.1 million). Developments are worrying, contrary to what is intended to be achieved through the Energy Transition and the Climate Change Act, precisely those that must seek to reduce emissions and deal with the climate emergency.
No wonder, if we take into account that electricity consumption in Navarre is not going to progress either, and that it is still on a downward trend since 2008. And we have to bear in mind that almost all renewables are produced in the form of electricity. How do we want to increase renewables and reduce fossil dependence if electricity consumption does not increase?
There is a clear need for an orderly and planned Degrowth, a concept that does not appear in the Energy Plan presented by the Department of Industry and Ecological Transition.
Both situations, the increase in fossil consumption and the decrease in electricity, take place in Navarre, which is considered a center of renewable facilities throughout the Spanish State and one of the communities that is presented as a model in the field of renewable energies. You can say that this is one of the many symptoms of the so-called "energy transition" that is not working. Moreover, the growth of renewable energy production is adding to the growth of fossil fuels. And this is even more evident at the global level, because it is at this level that we have to assess these aspects, because it is the only biosphere that we are attacking and encompassing the whole planet Earth.
Therefore, it can be said that the supposed "energy transition" is not giving a qualitative change in our production and consumption models. What is even more serious is that the processes of generating infrastructure needed for the generation of renewable energy may help to increase this problem. It is known that raw materials mining has to be extended a great deal in order to obtain lithium, copper, rare earth and other materials on which this transition is based.
These facts are not included in the new version of the Navarre Government's Energy Plan, and we wonder whether it is worth taking part in the debate. Because the texts before us do not refer to these problems. And all this, although its causes, the growth of consumption in general, are included in the texts of the Plan.
It is already clear that without reducing the consumption of energy and materials that must be produced in the societies of this first global world in which we are in Navarre, it is impossible to deal with the problems we face. The need for an orderly and planned Degrowth is evident, a concept that is not included in the Energy Plan presented by the Department of Industry and Ecological Transition.
That is why we believe that the real debate on the Navarre Energy Plan will take place at the 3rd NEE/TEN Conference: "Believe me in the desert, which no one has told you. Many authors, most of the academic world and social commitment, will analyze the current reality of the energy situation, with proposals for a true transition, also in Navarra.
From 21 to 24 October in Pamplona, at the Civivox Condestable, we will have Ivanka Puigdueta, PhD in Agri-Food Sciences, Julen Rekondo, National Environmental Prize, Luis González Reyes, PhD in Chemical Sciences and June San Millán, Law Degree. The rapporteurs will analyse from different methodological points the need to reduce consumption. And from the Subai Erakuntza foundation, “What to do about Growth? The Notebook of Proposals for the Navarra Society of the coming decades”, we will try to delve into the proposals we made in the Plazara debate document! In the Social Center through a participatory workshop.
There we can truly participate in the definition of the future of Navarre and in the management of energy, proposing alternative ways and experiences. The Government’s Energy Plan, as we have seen, does not respond to the challenges ahead. We await you at the NEE/TEN Degrowth Conference!
Jule Goñi and Martín Zelaia, members of the Subai Erakuntza Foundation.
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