Green energy and the exploitation of energy resources were the main topics of the debate between Ines Sousa Real of PAN and Rui Tavares of Livre, broadcast this Wednesday on the channel RTP3. The face-to-face meeting was also marked by Rui Tavares’ attacks on the policies of the PAN alliance.
Regarding the party’s political positioning, Ines Sousa Real said that “PAN is a useful political force for democracy” and that she is more than concerned about whether she is on the left or right flank, she wants to ensure that the causes she champions move forward .
On this topic, Rui Tavares accused PAN of inconsistency for allowing the right-wing government in Madeira to carry out a history of mass killings of animals.
“There is no contradiction on Livre’s part. The inconsistency arises when they say that it is possible to support the government of Madeira, which has a history of killing animals,” said Rui Tavares.
Regarding the exploitation of energy resources, Rui Tavares believes that “green hydrogen could be a revolution in the energy sector in Portugal,” considering public management the most appropriate. As for lithium, he says it is more reserved because its exploitation can have harmful effects on ecosystems.
“We have doubts about his exploration, the idea that in a small country most of these reserves are close to a population that is not participating. There are some specific exploration activities that can be carried out in existing mines that allow the development of lithium batteries,” explained a Livre representative.
Ines Souza Real said the problem with the exploitation of energy resources is not government management, but projects that have “already been given the green light to move forward” and should be stopped.
“We cannot make the transition because of the rights of the population, who will see the devastation of small family farming and tourism,” he said. “At the moment we have a license to destroy environmental values,” he emphasized.
At the end of the debate, Rui Tavares recalled that both parties (Livre and PAN) reject the idea of a useful vote, for which, according to him, the Portuguese are “paying the price” today. Rui Tavares assured that voting for Livre would serve “the majority of ecology and progress.”
Rui Tavares emphasized the “success” of Livre and PAN in implementing measures in recent years and recalled that in a “right-wing majority” scenario it would also be necessary to have a “strong opposition” and an alliance of left-wing parties with common goals.