SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Feb. 15 (EUROPE PRESS) –
The president of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, has reviewed the progress that is already being made in the objectives of the Canary Islands 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda that was presented on December 2, in the same act in which the so-called ‘Covenant of Los Jameos.
For Ángel Víctor Torres, that day was one of the most transcendental in recent years, since “a clear commitment by all of Canarian society to sustainability was signed, with an achievable and realistic document that, 75 days later, we are confirming that bears fruit,” he said.
Within the framework of a new SER Meeting, the president has developed an exhibition entitled ‘Canarias 2030, a great social pact for change’, in which he cited the 316 goals set in the Canarias 2030 Agenda, assuring that with said document “in The Canary Islands are already materializing progress,” he stressed.
The Chief Executive spoke of the important steps being taken in areas such as education, where “the early school leaving rate has been reduced by almost half compared to the 2019 data and we are working on the plan for the first cycle to promote education from 0 to 3 years, for which, in addition to our own resources, we already have 40 million from the State,” he said.
Regarding Social Welfare, Torres noted objectives such as increasing the stock of subsidized housing to place us at the European average. In this case, he mentioned the “ambitious” Housing Plan 2020-2025, which in its first year of operation reached 14,600 actions with more than 137 million euros. “Among these actions is the rehabilitation of 7,420 homes and the purchase or construction of 1,500 houses, with the forecast of delivering the first 500 houses of the plan before the end of 2022,” he pointed out.
In his presentation, he dedicated a special section to the objectives related to the environment, highlighting goal 7.2.1, which establishes that in 2030 the final consumption of renewable energy reaches 29%. In this sense, he pointed out that from 2019 to 2022 it has been possible to quadruple the consumption of photovoltaic energy in homes.
“That is the path, but the good data is not the result of chance. They are due to the commitment of ordinary citizens, companies and the progressive increase in public aid”, he said, after recalling the more than 10 million euros of subsidies activated last year -with which 353 projects went ahead- and the call that is currently underway, with 18 million euros for self-consumption, which can be extended.
PROMOTION OF RENEWABLE ENERGIES.
In reference to the promotion of renewable energies, Torres recalled that tomorrow the Sustainable Energy Strategy of the Canary Islands will be presented in Tenerife, at the Presidency headquarters, with the third vice-president and minister for the Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera.
It is about 466 million euros that arrive in the Canary Islands and that are part of the 700 million that the State has dedicated only to the island territories (Canary and Balearic Islands). The president considers that the agreement, of which all the details will be given in a press conference, represents “a very important milestone in a week that will be transcendental for the future and the sustainability of the Archipelago”.
In addition, Ángel Víctor Torres highlighted projects such as the Salto de Chira hydroelectric plant in Gran Canaria -whose works will be presented on Thursday this week-, as a clear example of real proposals aligned with the Canarian Agenda.
In the same way, he referred to the future of cities “which have to advance in urban renewal and regeneration, becoming more accessible, sustainable and friendly environments”. For this reason, he mentioned the dismantling of the refinery in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which already has the authorization of the Ecological Transition. According to the head of the regional Executive “it is a transformation project that can place us at the forefront of all of Europe”.
For Torres, this process that begins in the capital of Tenerife is in line with the philosophy of the Canarian Agenda and, specifically, with objectives such as improving mobility and an increase in the area allocated to green urban infrastructures (Canarian goal 11.4.1), or the improvement and expansion of open-air surfaces that can be universally accessed by people (Canarian goal 11.7.2). In his intervention, Torres stated that “we will do everything possible so that, after the dismantling of the refinery, we can have that space available for the use of citizens in 2030,” he remarked.
RECONSTRUCTION OF THE PALM
In his reflection on his vision of the future of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres also cited the reconstruction of La Palma, “island where we have an opportunity to become a benchmark for all of Europe in sustainability,” he assured.
Torres believes that the reconstruction funds should serve to restore hope to those affected and to have a more sustainable agriculture, with an improvement in the integral water cycle; to plan population settlements that are more efficient in the use of clean energy; and to have more accessible spaces with better mobility.
Regarding the economic forecasts, Torres sent a message of optimism for the amount of resources that will arrive in the Canary Islands in the coming years, “more than 7,000 million if we add the ordinary funds to the 3,000 million to which we aspire from the Next Generation” . The president alluded to the Reactivation Plan that in 2021 ended with an execution of more than 3,000 million euros, double what had been planned: “When we signed the Reactivation Pact we never thought of being in a situation like today, much more optimistic,” he said.
PUBLIC-PRIVATE TRACTOR PROJECTS
The President of the Canary Islands today updated the data on the tractor projects in public-private collaboration that are going to compete and aspire to the Next Generation funds. These strategic projects for the transformation of the Archipelago would require a total investment of 2,101 million with which to advance in digitalization, promotion of the audiovisual industry, circular and blue economies, the transformation of ports, the aeronautical sector and the decarbonization of tourism and industry.
Torres has detailed the distribution of these investments based on six areas of action. In the first place, he highlighted the accelerating infrastructures of the audiovisual sector, for which an investment of 250 million has been reached, the creation of 4,000 jobs and 600 SMEs involved. For leadership in intelligence and digital technology in tourism, an investment of 143 million is estimated, which would allow the creation of 750 jobs with the participation of 3,000 SMEs.
As for the transformation of ports and leadership in the Middle Atlantic, a budget of 297 million, 1,300 new jobs and the involvement of 500 SMEs is calculated. For the diversification of the economy and the blue economy, 120 million, 480 jobs and 60 SMEs are contemplated.
In the aeronautical sector, the figure reaches 465 million investment, 2,235 jobs and 85 SMEs. Finally, with an investment of 990 million euros, the president highlighted the decarbonisation and sustainability projects in the tourism and industry sectors, in which more than 2,000 SMEs would participate and with which 4,500 direct jobs and another 9,600 indirect jobs could be created.
