2023-06-22 23:23:27
An amendment to the entire European energy policy that is “neither good nor bad, is that there is none and it has been subsumed in what has been called the ecological transition.” It is one of the central elements of the intervention of Repsol’s CEO, Josu Jon Imaz, in what could become the ‘decalogue of Euskalduna’. A passionate defense of the industry and the employer, as well as their contribution to the welfare state and the quality of jobs in which Imaz has highlighted the need to flee from “fiscal Peronisms that punish those who create jobs”, in addition to denounce “populist speeches and policies against businessmen with names and surnames” that “young people are going to pay with the loss of opportunities.” Regarding the ban in Europe on combustion engines in 2035, he is clear: “The damage is such that I am convinced that it will not come.”
The ‘Objetivo Actualidad’ forum organized by EL CORREO and Petronor has entered fully into the energy debate that Europe is going through and a declaration of intent from the chief executive of Repsol in which he has called for “less ideology and more technology” in the energy transition.
At the event, held this Thursday with the attendance of more than two hundred people at the Euskalduna Palace in Bilbao, Imaz has called for an energy policy “that guarantees supply and price” above ideological apriorities that condemn the competitiveness of companies, stifle household spending and do not finish solving the reduction of greenhouse gases.
In his opinion, the current Community political guidelines in this field “subject energy policy with a false sustainability that raises prices, hurting families and driving industries to China.” Imaz has denounced the “hypocrisy” of some measures, which “in addition to weakening our industry, increase emissions in the world.” »And yet we are happy because they are not here in Europe», he ironized.
Along the same lines, and given the growing demand for natural gas as a result of the war in Ukraine, the CEO of Repsol recalled that it is “antisocial to prohibit exploring and exploiting gas in Spain while we buy it in the United States with many CO2 emissions associated with their transportation and extraction.” “And that is a law that we have approved in the Congress of Deputies of this country,” he remarked.
The decalogue for the new government
The first point of the decalogue developed by Imaz and that “the government that comes out of the polls has at its disposal” (it did not want to get into political flour) is the cost. “The price must be the key to each energy measure”, he stressed. That is why he has demanded that the economic impact of each policy be valued because “it must be said.” In addition, he has called for “stopping the abolitionist desire for technologies” to allow competition between the different alternatives to decarbonize and not risk everything on electrification. In this sense, he has defended the importance of the synthetic fuels -neutral in emissions- that Repsol promotes in the plant that Petronor projects and that will be the first in Spain to be in operation before 2026.
The fuel engine has been another of the points claimed by the person in charge of the Spanish oil company. For Imaz, in 2035 it will not be possible to ban it, as Brussels has proposed, “I am convinced that they will not be banned” because “it harms the economy and society, in addition to not solving emissions” because an electric car in Germany charged in a generation system that relies 50% on coal, supposes more CO2 than that of a hybrid diesel.
And it is that, for Imaz, it is necessary to “abandon the mantra that the economy must be more electrified.” In this sense, he pointed out that the largest CO2 emitter in the world is electricity generation and that if the coal it uses were replaced by natural gas, emissions would be reduced by 6,000 million tons, which is more than what the entire fleet emits. of the world.
The use of infrastructures, such as nuclear power plants “as long as they have all the guarantees of the CSN (Nuclear Safety Council) is” common sense “, he insisted, because closing them generates” a bill that families and industry will pay ».
“Let’s continue here”
Regarding the Tax on energy companies promoted by the Government of Pedro Sánchez, the chief executive of Repsol has been forceful, “it will be annulled in the courts” because “it is unfair, illegal and unconstitutional”. Imaz has insisted that the tax had to be formally adjusted because it is not a tax and taxes income, not profits, damaging companies that, like Repsol, lost 7.2 billion between 2019 and 2020.
Despite everything, Imaz has claimed Repsol’s “absolute commitment” to continue in Spain and with Petronor in Euskadi. A message that he has vindicated after the debate opened by the change of Ferrovial headquarters.
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