The triumph of 'No to MAT'

Pepet and Marieta already said it with their song Not in the MAT: a cry that, for once, has united politicians and civil society. And it seems to have worked: the project has been rejected. But how many MATs will have to come before we fully wake up? This time we have found out, but how many decisions that affect our territory are taken without us being aware of it? How much information is published in the BOE without us being aware of it?

It is also worth asking why projects that can carve up territories are decided from offices in Barcelona. Is there no more life beyond the metropolitan area? The regions always seem to assume the costs of a centralized system that does not think about them. The residents of many rural areas often discover these macro projects when they are already very advanced. Is this fair?

Sooner or later a decision will have to be made about energy. We are increasingly dependent on electricity and, despite the insistence on renewables, they are still insufficient to guarantee supply. We do not want to pollute, but we cannot give up on energy either, because our society depends absolutely on it. Electrification is advancing, but the way to produce and distribute this energy without destroying the territory has not been resolved.

So, what is the way forward? It is not enough to say no to MAT. We need a fair, decentralized and sustainable energy model that respects the territory and people and guarantees a better future for all. Without such planning, we will always be reacting late.