×

Our award-winning reporting has moved

Context provides news and analysis on three of the world’s most critical issues:

climate change, the impact of technology on society, and inclusive economies.

Brazil says new hydro power projects in the Amazon possible

by Reuters
Monday, 25 March 2019 15:22 GMT

FILE PHOTO: A view of the Furnas hydroelectric dam in the city of Sao Jose da Barra in the state of Minas Gerais in Central Brazil, January 14, 2013. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

Image Caption and Rights Information

"Environmental licensing is not an instrument to say no," says minister, adding assessments will be made on a strictly technical basis

(Adds quotes and context)

By Ana Mano

SAO PAULO, March 25 (Reuters) - The Brazilian government would be open to evaluating new hydro power projects in the Amazon region on their merits, as the administration shrugs off "ideological" interference in the licensing process, Environment Minister Ricardo Salles said on Monday.

Speaking at seminar organized by government relations association Abrig, Salles said environmental agency Ibama is in charge of assessing such projects and the risks associated with them, and it will do so on a strictly technical basis.

"It's important to remember: environmental licensing is not an instrument to say no. It is an instrument to determine under what conditions to say yes."

The minister said Ibama's work is to gauge the benefits and risks of each project and at the end of the analysis decide if there are any measures that can be imposed to mitigate the risk, allowing a project to go ahead.

Salles recognized the Amazon "is a sensitive" region because of its biodiversity, noting construction of hydro power projects there is not the same as in other regions of the country.

The minister's stance marks a shift from previous left-wing administrations, during which he said decisions based on "dogmas" compromised protection of the environment.

He cited the example of an un-built power line northern Brazil that would connect the state of Roraima to the national grid.

Roraima is supplied by Venezuela, but as a result of a hyperinflationary economic crisis in the neighboring country, the state has been suffering almost daily blackouts.

"Under an environmental standpoint, the worst decision was not approving construction of that power line," Salles said. He noted in the face of the power outages, Roraima must rely on alternative power sources.

"The electricity produced locally [in Roraima] is more anti-environment as it comes from fossil fuel sources," he said. (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Christian Plumb and Marguerita Choy)

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

-->