6/11/24
The role of the community and the importance of its participation in enabling the future green hydrogen industry and its derivatives in Magallanes was one of the central issues addressed at the Second Socio-environmental Forum on Green Hydrogen in the Magallanes Region held in Punta Arenas.
The meeting, held in the Ernesto Livacic auditorium of the Universidad de Magallanes, analyzed the opportunity and value that the industry will add to the area, its viability, taking advantage of the country's window of opportunity, and the importance of achieving a harmonious coexistence between the industry and the community, respecting the regional identity and social cohesion of Magallanes.
The activity, entitled "Dialogue and Action: Promoting Citizen Participation in Green Hydrogen", was organized by the Chilean Hydrogen Association (H2 Chile) and H2V Magallanes, together with the Regional Government of Magallanes and Chilean Antarctica; the Program Transforms Green Hydrogen Magallanes; Corfo Magallanes and Consultora EINAS, and the support of the Umag.
The President of H2V Magallanes, Mario Marchese, said that "we seek to contribute to an open dialogue, providing answers to people's expectations and apprehensions. The industry seeks to contribute to the development of the region, the country and the whole world".
Meanwhile, the Executive Director of H2 Chile, Marcos Kulka, referred to the viability of the industry, highlighting that by observing the latest reports from IRENA or IEA, "it is shown that worldwide, investment commitments have advanced 7 times in the last 4 years. And in the last year this investment has grown by more than 90%, in more than 434 projects. We see that this is true and that it continues to advance, and that Latin America represents 20% of this possible production for the world of energy, fuels and inputs for the green industry. And of this proposal, Chile represents half of Latin America".
The presentations were given by the sociologist and Senior Consultant of Arcadis, Ricardo Ibarra, who addressed the importance of Citizen Participation, the various instances for it and how these practices have evolved over time; and Mauricio Ojeda, General Manager of Grupo Singular, who provided information on the regional context of Magallanes in relation to various industries, higher education, employment and projections, and stressed that the developers of green hydrogen projects and their derivatives carry out early community engagement processes, which "differs from what is usually done in other industries.
The main event of the day was the discussion moderated by Mónica Buvinic, Regional Director of H2V Magallanes and Public Affairs Manager of TotalEnergies H2, with the participation of Felipe Lagos, Director of the Center for Regional Studies at UMAG; Víctor Fernández, Regional Director of H2V Magallanes and Public Affairs Manager of TEG Chile; Humberto Gómez, Senior Professional in Urban Wetlands Assessment and Representative of Agrupación Ecológica Patagónica; Doris Sandoval, Seremi of Labor and Social Welfare of Magallanes and Antarctica; Humberto Gómez, Senior Professional in Urban Wetlands Evaluation and Representative of Agrupación Ecológica Patagónica; Doris Sandoval, Seremi del Trabajo y Previsión Social de Magallanes y la Antártica Chilena; Marion Gómez, Head of the Punta Arenas Communal Union and member of the Regional Council of Civil Society (Coresoc) of Magallanes.
Among the issues addressed were: the risk of losing the social cohesion that is so characteristic of Magallanes as a result of the strong regional identity that exists and that was recently recorded by the Magallanes2024 Regional Barometer (87.3%), the eventual impact on services in the region, the job opportunities that the industry will generate and, consequently, the need for training in relevant job profiles, and the need for more information on the myths that still exist about the industry.
Key concepts mentioned included just socio-ecological transition, tripartite social dialogue and decent work, as fundamental to generate constructive participation processes. At the same time, the human capital of the Magallanes Region was valued and the challenge of ensuring that professionals and technicians have opportunities for development at the local level, thus retaining talent and promoting growth.
The closing remarks were made by Carlos Muñoz, General Manager of the environmental consulting firm EINAS, who commented on the issues identified during the activity and urged the attendees to participate in the next forum: "We are all citizens and we are all working within the framework of a global crisis that will not wait for us", he emphasized.
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