The environmental association Zero stated today that the prime minister's speech on Saturday night is proof that environmental values "continue to be seen as an obstacle" to the country's development.
«Zero considers that the words spoken [by António Costa, in communication to the country, on Saturday night] are unfortunately proof that environmental values continue to be seen as an obstacle to the country's development", stated the association, in a press release sent to the Lusa agency, regretting that this type of vision has not been abandoned.
For Zero, foreign and national investment «is always welcome, as long as there are no obstacles to what has been difficult to achieve, largely due to European imposition».
«The value associated with sustainability, in this case environmental, does not seem to exist in the political class», he noted, considering that speeding up cannot mean «overcoming limits that call into question the rigor of the application of existing legal instruments, future sustainability and the well-being of of the populations”.
For Zero, the cases that became public denote «an unacceptable decision chain where environmental impact studies legitimize decisions that have already been taken», giving as an example the Data Center 4.0 and the case of the Montalegre mine.
In the press release, the association also warns of the «disrespect for legislation, the population and the main warnings from civil society» in the various cases and criticizes the idea of Simplex Ambiental, which it considers to be «against the environment».
«The Simplex Ambiental was prepared by a Working Group chaired by João Tiago Silveira, currently accused of “Operation Influencer”, and which did not include any organization in the environmental forum», he notes.
Despite recognizing the legitimacy of simplifying administrative procedures, Zero states that, in this case, this was done at the «cost of measures that harm and compromise the environment in Portugal, such as the promotion of tacit approval, setting a decades-long setback, making a of the fundamental values that environmental policy and the environmental impact assessment instrument aim to protect».
«Zero defends a rapid and urgent energy and climate transition in our country, but this requires at the same time a debate and transparency that have been systematically forgotten, with a total loss of credibility in decision-making mechanisms, in particular, the assessment of environmental impact”, he concludes.
Portugal will have early legislative elections on March 10, 2024, scheduled by the President of the Republic, following the resignation of the prime minister on Tuesday.
António Costa is the target of an investigation by the Public Ministry at the Supreme Court of Justice, after suspects in a case related to business involving lithium, green hydrogen and a data center in Sines invoked his name as having intervened to unblock procedures.
The Public Ministry (MP) considers that the Prime Minister intervened in the approval of a diploma favorable to the interests of the company Start Campus, responsible for the data center, according to the indictment, which contains several other references to António Costa.
On the day of his dismissal, Costa refused to commit “any illicit or objectionable act”.
According to the MP, crimes of malfeasance, active and passive corruption of political office holders and influence peddling may be at stake in the lithium, green hydrogen and data center business process.
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