Based on experiences and statements in record, representatives of non-profit entities, artists and community leaders warned this Saturday that the presence, starting in January, of the Republicans Jennifer Gonzalezin La Fortaleza, and donald trumpin the White House, may result in little or no action to address the climate change in Puerto Rico and the United States, respectively, and mitigate or prevent its effects.
The 6th Puerto Rico Walk against Climate Change It was the space from which dozens of people demanded that future rulers deal, with the urgency it deserves, with what is considered the main threat against humanity.
Federico Cintron Moscosodirector of The Puerto Rico Bridge –entity that organized the walk– indicated that the main demands of the activity were for the island to stop the expansion of the natural gas or methane gas, promote renewable energy and require the approval of the Mitigation, Adaptation and Resilience Plan to Climate Change.
“There is a plan to stop this progress (of steps taken to address climate change) because one would think that, if they do not mention it, it is because it is not important, but, furthermore, it is that There are actions to destroy the work that has been done and to prevent Puerto Rico from having a future adapted to the global warming”she said, describing the election of González, as governor, and of Trump, as president, as “terrible news.”
For Cintrón Moscoso, last Tuesday’s election result “means the continuation of the last 10 to 15 years of public policies that are against the environment.”
He warned, in passing, that the new presidency of Trump – who was already in the White House from 2017 to 2021 – poses a threat, since one of his campaign promises was to withdraw the United States – therefore, Puerto Rico – from the Paris Agreementan international treaty between 196 countries that establishes objectives to tackle climate change. Trump also proposed reducing the budget of federal environmental agencies, some of which have a presence on the island.
“During this new quadrennium that is about to begin, we have to fight to maintain the Sea Grant Program and the University of Puerto Rico (UPR), so not only are we affected by national cuts, but also by cuts to the UPR.”he said, for his part, Angela Ferrá Elíasa Sea Grant educator, who is dedicated to the conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal resources.
“In the United States, they deny global warming and, in Puerto Rico, Jennifer González has already expressed that her interest is the expansion of methane gas”added Cintrón Moscoso.
Natural gas is composed of more than 90% methane gas, considered more polluting than carbon dioxide because it retains more heat and, therefore, is more harmful to the atmosphere, he explained. In your first interview with The New DayGonzález referred to natural gas as a “clean” source, despite being a fossil fuel.
“The United States is the number one exporter of methane gas in the world, so there is an interest from the United States in selling gas, and what better than to sell it to its colony, in Puerto Rico”added the director of El Puente, after warning about the risk of leakage and explosion of the structures to generate gas-based energy for the surrounding communities.
“The issue of methane gas gained a lot of strength in the 90s, as a transitional energy towards renewable energy. The problem is that renewable energy today is much more advanced than in the 90s and we do not need that transition,” he stressed.
Therefore, Cintrón Moscoso described the construction of new gas-based power plants as “a contradiction,” since the Energy Public Policy Law establishes that Puerto Rico must be 100% powered by renewable energy by 2050.
Also, he highlighted the importance of approving the Mitigation, Adaptation and Resilience Plan to Climate Change and for the government to be able to take legal action against this threat. In the last legislative session, the plan was shelved, after it was claimed that there was no time to discuss it.
Among the urgent issues he mentioned as part of the plan are a coastal construction moratorium and amending it to limit the use of agricultural land for the construction of solar farmspromoting the use of ceilings as an alternative for the installation of plates. Cintrón Moscoso argued that agricultural land is vital to promoting food sovereignty.
“We are seeing that it is a problem that eliminates vegetation, compacts land and creates flooding problems for communities,” he said, meanwhile. Ruth Santiago Quiñoneslawyer and member of the Environmental Dialogue Committee, citing examples from Salinas and Guayama.
Santiago Quiñones also advocated for a stable electrical system, and pointed out the need to guarantee access to renewable energy for people who do not have the economic power to pay for a private system.
“This is the most important issue, which is our environment, because, if we do not have a healthy home, referring to our country and our planet, any political argument or any idea of governance is useless”said the singer David Rodriguez Labaultknown as Sie7e.
“Anyone who has a call should get involved in this, in my opinion. It is almost like a responsibility that I feel to say, ‘we must pay attention to the scientists on these issues,’” he concluded.
The 6th Puerto Rico Climate Change Walk left and returned from Luis Muñoz Rivera Park, in San Juan, where there were also information tables and other activities for attendees, including students from all over the island.