The Minister of the Environment, Adrián PeñaHe reported that Uruguay is close to issuing a “sustainable bond” of public debt for approximately US$ 1,000 million, what will it have an interest rate according to the fulfillment of environmental goals that the country has for 2025.
Speaking to the program Who’s Who of Canal 5 and Diamante FMPeña indicated that Uruguay is “trying to position itself as a leader on environmental issues” and, in that sense, the debt issue will be made “with the interest rate tied to the fulfillment of environmental or climate goals that Uruguay has assumed”. And he added: “The fulfillment of this goal by the country will allow it to benefit from an improvement in the interest rate”. The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) has already announced that it has the issuance of a sustainable bond on the agenda for this year.
The hierarch remarked that Uruguay “if it is not the first country to issue a sustainable bond, it will be one of the first to do so”.
“Leading environmental change and taking the lead means that Uruguay has to comply. This is the same as meeting the debt. When we assume these commitments, Uruguay has to be the first of the classthen, we are going down that path to demonstrate that Uruguay is a sustainable country in terms of its production – the basis of its economy – and that there are certain objectives that are committed, “said Peña.
In addition, he pointed out that the improvements in the interest rate will be beneficial for investors. “There are investments that are looking for this and they are going to pressure the government to comply“, I consider.
Solution to garbage problems in Montevideo and Canelones
Peña reported that the Ministry of the Environment (MA) is close to find solution for “so least half of the waste from Montevideo and Canelones”. It would be linked to the transformation of that garbage into methanol.
“Ships and planes are major emitters of CO2 because they use oil, which is a fossil fuel, and they should stop doing so, but hydrogen is still not available, then there is a transition fuel that is methanol that can be generated in many ways and one is with garbage”, he explained.
Felipe Cardoso Power Plant
The minister pointed out that investors are appearing for the garbage “uncommitted from Latin America” and that in this sense, together with the municipalities of Montevideo and Canelones, are in negotiations with an investor who sells the methanol to an international shipping company.
“That shipping company would buy the methanol produced by the plant. The municipalities deliver the garbage paying less than what they pay to dispose of it, the company processes it, produces methanol, sells it and does its business with the shipping company”, explained Peña and indicated that it would reach 50% of the waste produced in Montevideo and Canelones.
The hierarch announced that the MA is “at days of having a feasibility study” about it and that, in principle, the plant would be located in the Felipe Cardoso landfill.
Project Neptune
The project neptune refers to the installation of an OSE water treatment plant in Arazatí, San José, which would be an alternative to the water deficit in the metropolitan area.
“Today we depend on a single source that is the Santa Lucía River and on a single plant that is Aguas Corrientes, so Anything that happens there would greatly complicate the supply to the Montevideans.”, Peña warned.
In that sense, he argued that the government is betting on a “alternative water source” in Arazati. It would be a water intake from the Río de la Plata that would go through a purification process and would later be pumped to the Melilla overflow “where 85% of the coverage of Montevideo is located”. “With this we guarantee for 50 years the supply in terms of quantity of drinking water to Montevideo”, he added.
Carlos Pazos
Running Water Plant
The minister said that he reached an agreement with the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pouso that at the end of June 2022 a call for public interest is made.
The idea was presented by a consortium of companies, for which, according to Peña, The intention is that they present the project and in this way they will obtain “an advantage that the administration gives them that goes from 5% to 20% – it has not yet been defined – and then a competitive process is called where this consortium has an advantage but not ensures you win.”
The private that takes charge will do it for between 25 and 30 years And it will be dedicated to the purification of water. OSA, for its part, will pay for the service provided and for the work and will be responsible for the distribution of that wateraccording to Pena.
