From the financial crisis to the environmental one, there is no doubt that the world is experiencing a period of drastic changes. While most of the countries are devising their policies based on green considerations, Brazil seems to be going in the opposite direction. The government has recently approved a 10-year plan for the Brazilian energy matrix that not only ignores renewable and clean energy sources where hydroelectric plants are not feasible, but also favors the increase of thermal plants based on coal and oil.
In a speech made in the south of Brazil shortly after the approval of the plan, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made reference to former President Juscelino Kubitschek, one of the most famous politicians in the history of Brazil, responsible for the construction of Brasilia, the country´s 49-year old capital. Lula said that if the former president would have had to build the city according to today’s regulations, he would not have managed to get the necessary environmental licenses to build the capital’s airport runway.
This declaration could be seen as a criticism towards bureaucracy, if it were not for its timing: on the same day, a provisional measure regarding the creation of the Brazilian Sovereign Fund was approved by the Congress. The fund, essentially an economic tool, has an article that exempts the construction of roads included in the PAC (Government-sponsored Development Acceleration Program) from any form of environmental licensing. The Brazilian Environment Minister, Carlos Minc (above left), attempted to change the text of the provisional measure – to no avail. He has also unsuccessfully tried to include renewable and clean sources of energy in the matrix plan, especially for Brazil’s Northeast, where hydroelectric plants are not viable. In this tough battle, Minc is now trying to ensure that the companies that build such plants mitigate the harms they will cause to the environment.
Looking at this picture, one gets the impression that President Lula (above right) is chasing economic development at all costs, despite his good intentions. Comparing the present administration to one that took place 5 decades ago is pointless, as environmental consciousness has evolved dramatically since then. “The most popular politician on Earth” (as Obama called him in the G20 meeting a few weeks back) may get away with it in the short term, but if he doesn’t find a balance between economic development and environmental preservation, history may judge him quite harshly.
[via Jovem Pan]
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this text is quite diferent from the original source, and
lula does concerns with environmental responsibility,
otherwise, brazilians would not use sugar cane alcool in their vehicles. besides this, no single country in this tiny planet intends to stop or shorten oil exploration
April 25th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Hi Hugo, thanks for your comment although I think you sort of misunderstood our point. We never stated that President Lula was not concerned with the environment; our point was only about the new energy matrix that does indeed favor the increase of thermal plants based on oil and coal and basically ignores potential renewable energy sources, such as wind and sun, which is quite unfortunate considering the moment we are living through.
Regarding the use of alcohol as a proof of Lula´s concern with the environment, I´d have to disagree with that for several reasons. First because alcohol started being produced in the 1970s and has nothing to do with Lula; second because its production stemmed out of an economic need (and patriotism), not an environmental one; and third because the use of ethanol in Brazil to this day is much more due to economic reasons than environmental concerns.
Now, when you say that the text is very different from the original source, you are correct. This text was compiled from several different sources of information and only one of them was linked to the site. If you want, we can send you some other links with the info, all in Portuguese.
Best,
Valeria
Mandalah
April 27th, 2009 at 9:43 am
It’s certainly an interesting debate.
At the moment the vast majority of countries in the world are ignoring their responsibilities out of a pure desperation to avoid the global downturn.
Fear of the unknown is turning what could be a great opportunity to spark a revolution in the way we live our lives into the stumbling block that will slow advancement.
April 27th, 2009 at 11:17 am