First session: A commitment to the future that requires taking on challenges and challenges

The eForum was presented and introduced by Paula Serra, Director of Audiovisuals at Grup Serra, followed by the official inauguration by the President of the Balearics, Marga Prohens.

Prohens thanked and congratulated Grup Serra for the eForum initiative for "dealing with fundamental issues for the Balearic Islands, a small and fragile territory that makes it more vulnerable to climate change. We will take note of the reflections and proposals arising from this forum. Our valuable natural environment is our hallmark and that is why we face urgent challenges of sustainability and the fight against climate change".

The president referred to the speeding up of the processing of energy project files "to be able to attend to companies and committed citizens", the opening of face-to-face offices and the declarations of general interest for energy infrastructures. "The energy transition has to reach everyone," he declared. She also highlighted the Government's priority in the water cycle, with investments in purification and the reduction of leaks.

For Prohens, "sustainability has to be economic, social and environmental. If not, it will not be sustainability". Finally, she recalled the launch of the Pacte Social i Polític per a la Sostenibilitat (Social and Political Pact for Sustainability), with more than a hundred entities represented, which "will work with rigour on the basis of objective data".

JOSÉ LUIS GALLEGO
Environmental communicator

The journalist and environmental communicator José Luis Gallego was the coordinator of the first session, Challenges and solutions in the era of environmental sustainability, and presented the first paper: Responsible renewables: energy, territory and nature. Gallego stressed the importance of the eForum "because knowledge is acquired and shared here. Climate change is the greatest threat we face as a species. Access to energy is a human right and we are going to need more of it, so the transition to renewables is urgent. In this context, the biodiversity crisis is as important as the climate crisis. The solutions to climate change lie in nature. Therefore, the climate and biodiversity crises must be tackled together, and the energy transition has to be fair for all, including nature".

Regarding the Balearic Islands, Gallego stressed that "it is at ground zero of climate change and is a stronghold for endangered species. As a natural paradise, the Balearic Islands is at an environmental crossroads, so it must accelerate the transition processes with mitigation and adaptation. It will not be easy or comfortable.

DAMIÀ GOMIS
Director of the lINCC-UIB

The physicist and director of the Interdisciplinary Laboratory on Climate Change, Damià Gomis, explained that "never before have the average temperatures recorded in the Balearic Islands shown such an intense upward trend. It is not so clear that it is raining less, but it is doing so in a different way, with more torrential rainfall, although projections point to a decrease. The rise in sea level is quantified at more than three millimetres each year and leads to the flooding of lagoons and beaches, especially if there are promenades behind them. The Balearic Islands could lose 50-60% of their beaches in several decades One of the impacts on the islands will be the loss of fertility in agriculture and terrestrial ecosystems. Sea temperatures above 28 degrees Celsius for weeks at a time cause posidonia mortality, which would have effects on coastal ecosystems. The Balearic Islands are already reducing emissions in energy generation - although we need to reduce consumption - but in transport we are running rampant.

At the global level, Gomis pointed out that "we cannot emit more than the natural absorption capacity. If we don't, the temperature will continue to rise. If we go to increases of more than 1.5-2 degrees Celsius in average temperatures, we will reach the point of no return. There is no lack of information on climate change, but there is a lack of decisions.

ISABEL MORENO
Meteorologist

The meteorologist and presenter of Aquí la tierra (TVE) recalled that "in the mid-19th century a relationship was already established between CO2 emissions and the increase in temperature. In 2024 we already know that the climate system is not able to cope with the CO2 we emit, which has reached its highest concentration in three million years. As a species, humans have never experienced such concentrations. The growth in CO2 concentrations and temperatures is unprecedented in the last 100,000 years. On current trends, we will reach a global average temperature increase over the pre-industrial era of 1.5 degrees Celsius by July 2033".

Moreno indicated a future scenario in Spain of "a more desert-like climate, birds changing their migratory patterns, the presence of disease-transmitting mosquitoes, agricultural pests with losses in the millions and tourist changes, heading to the Bay of Biscay instead of the Mediterranean. On a global level, climate change leads to health effects. And climate injustice leads to more conflict. Even if we stopped emitting right now, CO2 concentrations would not fall significantly over the next 3,000 years, temperatures would not fall significantly over the next 3,000 years, and sea levels would continue to rise. We know what we can do to improve the future, but the book is still blank.

GUILLERMO FANDOS
Biologist

Fandos, a specialist in zoology, stressed that "we are in a biodiversity crisis and the current loss of species is unprecedented. The decline is so serious that a million species of animals and plants are in danger of extinction, and climate change is one of the factors".

Fandos called for "an improvement in biodiversity predictions, incorporating data and implementing models and technology, as well as having a single concept of health, encompassing human, animal and ecosystem health". The biologist defended "environmental sensitivity for renewable energies" and recalled that "conservation measures work, as we have seen with the Iberian lynx, as long as they are applied on the basis of knowledge and data. The anthropogenic, climatic and ecological systems must be integrated to detect causes and trends, in the same way that research, social participation and management must be integrated".

BEATRIZ MATO
Dtora. Sustainability Greenalia

Greenalia is a renewable energy company with operations in Spain and the United States, and Mato is its Director of Development and Sustainability. Mato pointed out that "renewable energies are key players in the energy transition, but we are not reducing greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990, the reference year. We are not doing well and we will soon reach the point of no return. Energy consumption must be reduced, but we are not increasing the demand for renewable electricity to replace fossil fuels. A new energy map is urgently needed, as we are facing one of the biggest social and economic transformations, and we must all get involved.

However, Mato lamented the obstacles faced by wind projects in Galicia: "We have authorisations that wait five years due to a limiting and suffocating bureaucracy, incentives are not well targeted, there is a lack of laws without interpretations that guarantee legal certainty, and there is a need for education for social consensus. In Galicia, 60 out of 70 wind projects are paralysed by the courts, awaiting a decision by the European Court of Justice. And this situation is applicable to other communities. Even so, Spain is the second European country in terms of renewables and green energy attracts industry. 

ANTONIO CALVO
Director of Sustainability Redeia

Calvo took part in the final round table of the session and pointed out the need to "involve the inhabitants of the territories in the climatic and economic benefits of renewable energies, which, in turn, must guarantee the quality of supply. We must electrify as much as possible, but we must do it well. The peak of consumption in Spain was in 2007, with 45,000 megawatts. We are now 4,000-5,000 megawatts lower thanks to more efficient consumption. However, in the last 30 years we have emitted as much as in the previous 150 years. We have the data, but we seem to ignore the consequences and it is worrying that we now have a European Parliament that is less green than the last one.

SARAH OPPENHEIMER
Director of the Global Strategic Council in Spain

Oppenheimer also participated in the final round table. In his opinion, "there is technology to fight climate change, but the challenge is financial, social, administrative and educational, and that everything is easy. The debate cannot be about renewables yes or renewables no, but about how we want our energy. The alternative is to continue consuming fossil fuels. We have to work together to make the transition as smooth as possible, bearing in mind that the best megawatt is the one not consumed.