Hello. I’ll tell you some news that you can read today the newspaper.
He spoke with Environment Minister Adrián Peña the newspaper on topics of great importance such as the Neptune project and the possible exploitation of hydrocarbons (see pages 13-15), but here we stop at a general concept he raised about his mission.
Peña said his “thankless task” is to “manage tensions and ensure that economic policy develops with the greatest possible sustainability”. He gave examples of this approach when he spoke of the need to “control over-fertilization, which modifies the arrival of phosphorus and nitrogen in watercourses and generates blooms”, or that Uruguay must “maintain the quality of its waters in good or very good, together with an economic productive-industrial development”.
It may seem sensible, but it is a slightly outdated view compared to contemporary trends. This is not Peña’s exclusive responsibility, but rather expresses a widespread point of view in society and in the party system, which largely determines the level of development of Uruguayan environmental institutions and policies.
Many think that the Ministry of the Environment should seek a “reasonable” coexistence between economic development and defense of natural resources, often annoying producers and other ministries (such as Livestock, Agriculture and Fishing, Industry, Energy and Mining, and, obviously that of Economics and Finance). It is therefore seen as a necessary evil, except by those who act as if environmental risks do not exist or matter much less than their businesses.
In today’s world, and particularly in the context of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, new trends go beyond that notion of “balance”, and even beyond the need to incorporate environmental costs into corporate and national accounting, as is the case when the receipt of a loan is recorded which must then be paid with interest.
We prefer to speak of “ecological transition” or “green transition” to indicate the will to move towards another economic model of development, which avoids excessive exploitation of resources, respects biodiversity and does not rely on the use of fossil fuels, maintaining or increasing current levels of well-being. In Spain and France there are already Ministries of Ecological Transition and not of the Environment, and the issue is more about the content than the name.
Significant uncertainties remain about the new model, among other things because currently the countries that obtain the best development indexes are not necessarily those with the best scores in terms of sustainability, but this only underlines the urgency to change not only technologies or energy sources, but not only, from the forms of urbanization to the notions of what a good life is.
The task of the Ministry of Public Health is not only to guarantee medical assistance to people suffering from pathologies, but also to promote healthier lifestyles. Something similar happens with the environment, and we will have to assume it, before it is too late and we are faced with much more unpleasant tasks.
See you tomorrow.
