They demand that the Government, in front of Congress, reject subsidizing Altri's macrocellulose project.
Madrid, May 8 (EFE) - Altri Non!, the protest against the planned soluble cellulose and lyocell mega-plant in Palas de Rei (Lugo), reached the Congress of Deputies in Madrid on Thursday to demand that the government not provide "a single euro of public funds" to finance the plant's construction.
Several dozen people gathered at the invitation of the Ulloa Viva Platform, Greenpeace, and Ecologists in Action to express their opposition to the project by the Portuguese multinational Altri, citing the socio-environmental threats its construction would pose to Galicia.
Second Vice President and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, has reiterated her commitment to oppose the Altri project, which "not only represents an environmental attack, but also destroys marine ecosystems, the production and wealth of the Arousa Estuary" and must be "radically rejected."
He also described as "incoherent" the fact that the Galician Regional Government, which approved the Environmental Impact Declaration (EID) for the macro-plant, is defending projects that are "absolutely rejected" by the entire country.
Erika González, of Ecologists in Action, told EFE that if the factory goes ahead, it would mean "the destruction of a protected area, part of the Natura 2000 Network," with "special conservation zones that will be threatened."
Although the Ministry of Industry and Tourism has rejected the project's request for the €30 million it had requested under the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) for decarbonization, its promoters continue to demand a €250 million subsidy from the Spanish government.
"What has been rejected right now is 30 million from the PERTE (Decarbonization Program), but we don't know what other public funds they have applied for or want to apply for," said González, referring to the 250 million requested from the Industry.
BNG Senator Carme da Silva, who called the facility an "environmental bomb," reiterated her party's commitment to preventing Altri from receiving public funds.
"It would be an attack on Galician society" that "it will not tolerate," he stated, while noting that they will continue working to ensure there are no "ambiguities" on the part of the Government regarding the project.
In a statement released Thursday, the BNG considered that the withdrawal of institutional financial support will be "decisive" in preventing Altri from establishing itself in Palas de Rei.
Greenpeace's coordinator in Galicia, Manuel Santos, explained to EFE that one of the objectives of the mobilization is to respond to the call of Galicians in Madrid, but also of all environmentally conscious people.
Santos considered the project to be probably "the most damaging project that has occurred in Galicia in recent decades" from an environmental, social, and economic perspective.
The organizers explained in a statement that this Portuguese company, in partnership with the Galician company Greenalia, intends to extract up to 46 million liters of water from this river basin each day—equivalent to the consumption of the entire province of Lugo—and to discharge up to 30 million liters of contaminated water daily after undergoing the pulp extraction process.
"This ecological attack will affect protected areas and seriously jeopardize the livelihood of thousands of families whose economies are based on agriculture and livestock in the A Ulloa region, and therefore the fishing and shellfish harvesting in the Arousa estuary, where the Ulla River flows into the river," they stated in the statement.
Santos also emphasized the danger this would pose to agricultural and livestock farming in A Ulloa, with "many innovative agroecological projects" or the opening of a new eucalyptus plantation cycle in Galicia, "one of the greatest disasters for biodiversity."
Furthermore, he reiterated his opposition to Altri's request for €250 million in public funds to finance "this enormous pulp mill at a loss." EFE
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Dozens of boats descend the Ulla to demand that the river not be "given away" to Altri.
Industry does not clarify whether the Lugo macro-plant will receive European funds or not.
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