“Create conditions for investments in renewables”

Goldenergy and the Axpo Group held a high-level conference in Lisbon some days ago, where more than 80 representatives from energy, industry, government, politics and civil society discussed New Energy Challenges.

The event aimed to encourage debate on present and future challenges in the energy sector and their socio-economic implications, especially in light of the current global geostrategic situation.

Portugal’s Secretary of State for the Environment and Energy, João Galamba, gave a keynote speech on the importance of investment in the sector and the increasing demand for renewable energy.

In his speech, Galamba said that the energy sector is in an unprecedented situation, in which the focus is not on attracting investment, but on creating and showing conditions to develop it. "Many times in Portugal the question is: 'How to attract investment? What reform can we do to become an attractive country for investment?' In the energy sector, at the moment, this is a pointless discussion, because we don't have to attract any investment, we have to create conditions so that the investment in renewable energies that already wants to come to Portugal, can come", Galamba said.

Earlier, the question, ‘Are we heading towards a global energy crisis?’ was addressed by the President of Portugal’s energy market regulator ERS, Pedro Verdelho. Geostrategy and the future of energy were then explored in a presentation by Paulo Portas, formerly Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Portuguese government.

A panel discussion on the new energy paradigm followed, with contributions from Ricardo Nunes, President of the Energy Traders Association (ACEMEL); Cristina Siza Vieira, Executive Vice-President of the Portuguese Hospitality Association (AHP); and Rui Shantilal, a cybersecurity specialist professor at Universidade Católica, and Managing Partner of consulting firm Integrity.

‘The challenges of green energy: taxation, decarbonisation, and benefits for the consumer’, was the theme of another panel discussion featuring contributions by Ignacio Soneira, Managing Director of Axpo Iberia; André Silva, Head of New Energy at Goldenergy; and Francisco Ferreira, President of ZERO (Association for the Sustainability of the Earth System), a Portuguese environmental NGO.

The conference was broadcast live by the leading business media outlet Jornal Económico.