2023-09-14 21:59:44
The balance between energy transition and prices within the reach of all citizens does not involve demonizing gas, nor imposing voracious taxation, nor creating mobility only accessible to high incomes, the CEOs of Iberdrola, Endesa and Repsol have denounced. during a few days at the FAES Foundation Campus.
The CEO of Repsol, Josu Jon Imaz, has warned that the automotive sector is threatened by a series of “absolutely incorrect” energy transition measures and has added that “mobility is being made for the rich, which a large part of the population cannot pay.” Imaz has explained that the driver of a diesel car who travels from the town of Móstoles to nearby Madrid does not currently have any help to renew his fuel vehicle, unless he buys an electric one, the price of which is higher.
According to Imaz, if aid were given to replace old fuel vehicles with new ones using this technology, which pollute less, the Spanish automobile industry would be reactivated, the second in the EU in production, and, furthermore, it would be “socially more progressive” than what What is happening now, in which income is transferred from the lower classes to the upper classes, who are the ones who can buy an electric car and access its aid. He has also pointed out that a liter of biofuel costs 30 cents more than diesel at Repsol service stations, something that would not happen if it did not pay the same Hydrocarbon Tax as general diesel.
In energy matters, Imaz has assured that it is “an aberration” that in Spain there is a Climate Law that prohibits the exploration and production of gas. During his speech, Imaz pointed out that Spain “needs gas” and it is an exercise in “hypocrisy” that it is being imported from other countries to give an image of being “sustainable”, when the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane is the same. and greater if the emissions of its transport to bring it to Spain are taken into account. “We clear our consciences, we say that we are sustainable, we are damaging our industrial competitiveness and in turn we are increasing CO2 emissions in the world,” he added.
For this reason, the CEO of Repsol has asked to carry out a transition in an “intelligent” way and not from “ideology.” Imaz attributes the increase in gas and oil prices not only to the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, but also to “prohibitionist radicalism”, which “puts pressure” on investors and causes them to end up abandoning their projects, generating an increase in prices. For this reason, he has asked not to cause a disruption in demand that would cause an increase in energy prices and to take advantage of the endogenous strengths that exist in Europe. “In Europe we were practically producing the same gas 25 years ago that we subsequently imported from Russia,” added Imaz.
In this sense, the CEO of Endesa, José Bogas, has assured that Spain is the European country that consumes the most Russian gas “by far” and has highlighted the importance of the price of this raw material for society. Although the decarbonization of the economy continues to be one of the main objectives of companies, when the Russian crisis hits, citizens “what they want are prices” and companies consider not going ahead with projects that are not profitable.
Presentation dedicated to the Energy Transition at the FAES 2023 Campus Ricardo RubioEUROPAPRESS
For his part, the CEO of Iberdrola Spain, Mario Ruiz-Tagle, has highlighted that gas has the problem of price and production, two aspects in which Spain has no control given that the country is a “mere policy taker.” prices”. Ruiz-Tagle insists on the need to lower prices but without giving up advancing in decarbonization even though it is an “expensive” process. On the other hand, he has opined that if Europe wants to be the “capital of the world” of green hydrogen, it has to “run” because, as he has warned, other regions of the world, such as Latin America, China, Australia or southern Africa are “waking up”.
Thus, the manager has urged that investment be encouraged in the European Union (EU) through a stable regulatory framework and a “tax tranquility pact.” Ruiz-Tagle advocated reversing the current policy of increasing taxes on energy companies in the EU and in Spain, “absolutely wrong.” “It is tremendously dangerous to use taxation as a collection fund to obtain resources,” added the Iberdrola executive, who warned of the “blunder” of withdrawing money for investment due to these tax requirements, while other countries such as the United States stimulate investment with a better taxation and fewer obstacles to permits.
As for Spain, the CEO of Endesa does not believe that the regulation that currently exists in Spain is prepared for everything that needs to be done to carry out the energy transition. Bogas has said that it cannot be that we stop importing fossil fuels to start importing technology for renewables, and that the opportunity presented by the energy transition has to be to develop industry in Spain. Furthermore, he has pointed out that progress can be made in green hydrogen and more decarbonized fuels, but if action is not taken in the electrical network, there will be a “tremendous” bottleneck.
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