Environmental contingency plan in the Aburrá Valley, what does it consist of? - Medellin Colombia

Medellin and its metropolitan area prepare for the first air quality episode of the two that the region crosses in the year, caused by the transition between dry and rainy seasons, which generates low cloudiness that prevents pollutants from dispersing correctly in the atmosphere.

The Aburrá Valley Metropolitan Area (AMVA), environmental authority in the region, has a series of tools to permanently monitor atmospheric conditions and thus make decisions in this regard.

One of the main ones is the Early Warning System (SIATA), which has 22 stations that measure the Air Quality Index (ICA) in the Aburrá Valley.

This system, which is free access to monitor 24/7, it has ranges of PM2.5 contaminant material levels which, depending on their severity, have a color scale, as follows:

• Good (green): 0 to 12 micrograms per cubic meter.
• Moderate (yellow): 13 to 37 micrograms per cubic meter.
• Harmful to sensitive groups (orange): 38 to 55 micrograms per cubic meter.
• Harmful (red): 56 to 150 micrograms per cubic meter.
• Extremely harmful (purple): 151 micrograms per cubic meter of air and above.

(Also read: Learn about the parks that most value the sectors in Medellín)

Did you know that there is the Comprehensive Plan for Air Quality Management – PIGECA, which aims to drastically reduce polluting emissions. Know the importance of SIATA within the Plan and how it contributes to its fulfillment.#SustainableFuture #Air pic.twitter.com/cbivJaMoXv

— Aburrá Valley Metropolitan Area (@Areametropol) January 17, 2022

So when is an environmental alert decreed? The AMVA explained that since 2016 there is a Comprehensive Air Quality Management Plan (Pigeca)which contains short, medium and long-term strategies to improve air quality by 2030.

Said Plan contains the Operational Plan to deal with Atmospheric Pollution Episodes (POECA), which is an immediate response tool in the event of a contingency.

This protocol has three states: prevention, alert and emergencywhich are activated according to the ranges of pollutants in the air and the exposure times recorded by the stations that measure the quality of the Siata’s air.

In other words, depending on the levels of air pollution recorded by the stations, the environmental authority can take measures such as: the environmental peak and plate, restriction for freight vehicles, suspension of traffic charges, among others.

(We recommend you read: Are you looking for housing in Medellín? We explain how to access a subsidy)

The measurements will be in accordance with the proportions of the episode, in its fair measure and according to what is established by the Poeca

Juan David Palacio, director of the AMVA, also explained that “in a unanimous vote, the Metropolitan Health Council approved the Valle de Aburrá Metropolitan Area to make effective and timely decisions -based on the management of the pandemic- during these atmospheric episodes, related to the execution of strategies that are not included in the POECA and whose purpose is to preserve the health of metropolitan inhabitants, if necessary.

For the 2022 episode, which will begin on February 14initially there will be no restrictive measures beyond those already implemented, such as the bill and plate.

Although it is not ruled out that since February 21 there restriction of movement of cargo transport and dump trucks to 4 digitsfrom 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. and for these same vehicles with models less than or equal to 2009, with the same plate numbers, the restriction will be from 5 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.

“The measures will be in accordance with the proportions of the episode, in its fair measure and in accordance with what is established by the Poeca,” added the director of the Metropolitan Area, who assured that any change in the measures will be informed in a timely manner to the citizenry. .

MEDELLIN

Energy Contingency Plan in Motion Amid Russia-Ukraine Crisis

WASHINGTON — 

The Biden administration has been working with European countries and energy producers around the world on ways to supply fuel to Western European countries should Russian President Vladimir Putin slash oil and gas exports in retaliation for sanctions imposed for an invasion of Ukraine.

“We’ve been working to identify additional volumes of non-Russian natural gas from various areas of the world from North Africa and the Middle East to Asia and the United States,” a senior administration official said in a briefing with reporters on Tuesday.

The contingency plan is aimed to reassure European allies concerned about the impact of Russia weaponizing its energy supply. Moscow provides approximately 40% of Europe’s natural gas, and European energy stockpiles have been significantly lower in the past few months because of reduced Russian supplies.

FILE – Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Alexei Miller, Russian natural gas giant Gazprom CEO, attend a meeting in Novobureyskiy, Russia, on Aug. 3, 2017.

A second senior administration official underscored that oil and gas exports make up about half of Russia’s federal budget revenues, which means that Moscow is just as dependent on its energy revenue as Europe is on its supply.

“If Russia decides to weaponize its supply of natural gas or crude oil, it wouldn’t be without consequences to the Russian economy,” the official said.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to confirm reporting that Qatar is one of the countries that the U.S. and European allies are turning to.

“Our approach is not about any one country or any individual entity,” she said while briefing reporters Tuesday, adding that the administration is engaging with major buyers and suppliers of liquefied natural gas to ensure flexibility in existing contracts to enable diversion to Europe if needed.

President Joe Biden is set to meet with Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar at the White House on January 31. According to the White House, ensuring the stability of global energy supplies will be one of the topics discussed by the leaders.

While having a contingency plan is important, analysts say it won’t be easy to substitute for existing infrastructure, particularly under the current global supply chain crisis.

“Think of a gas pipeline as a faucet. … It’s super-efficient,” said Kristine Berzina, a senior fellow at The German Marshall Fund of the United States. Berzina told VOA that a contingency plan would be “more of a bucket than it is a faucet.”

U.S. President Joe Biden responds to questions from reporters as he meets with his Competition Council in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Jan. 24, 2022.

US-Europe unity

On Monday, Biden said there was total unity among Western powers on the issue of Russia’s pressure on Ukraine.

“I had a very, very, very good meeting — total unanimity with all the European leaders,” Biden told reporters shortly after a videoconference with European leaders on the escalating Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Some analysts, however, say Biden maybe overplaying talk of unity.

“In Europe, people are not as gung-ho and trigger-happy as they are here in the United States,” said Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international affairs at The New School, in New York.

For months, the U.S. and European allies have warned of swift and severe economic consequences if Putin invades Ukraine. But some European allies have been nervous about the impact on their economies, including on the supply of Russian natural gas — particularly during the winter months.

Germany is especially reliant on Russian energy. Berlin has remained ambiguous about whether in the event of war it is prepared to shut down the just-completed Nord Stream 2 undersea pipeline, which will pump natural gas from Russia to Germany.

“Despite all this conversation of the united West over Russia, it’s not as united,” Khrushcheva said. “And Putin knows that.”

On Tuesday, Biden reiterated his position. “I made it clear to Putin early on if he went into Ukraine there would be consequences,” he said.

FILE – The tanker Sun Arrows loads its cargo of liquefied natural gas from the Sakhalin-2 project in the port of Prigorodnoye, Russia, on Oct. 29, 2021.

But analysts say that in moving forward with his harsh rhetoric on Russian sanctions, Biden needs to be mindful of the political calculation for European leaders.

“The Western European population isn’t necessarily willing to suffer for Ukraine,” Berzina said.

On Monday, the U.S. put 8,500 troops on heightened alert for possible deployment to Eastern Europe, amid escalating tensions in the crisis along the Russia-Ukraine border, where Putin has deployed 127,000 troops, according to U.S. and Ukrainian estimates.

The Russian troop deployment is similar to Moscow’s move ahead of its 2014 annexation of Crimea, a peninsula on the Black Sea, which triggered a series of international sanctions against Moscow but ultimately failed to deter Putin’s land grab.

“They have not only shown no signs of de-escalating — they are in fact adding more force capability,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said about the Russian military buildup during a press briefing on Monday.

Both countries stepped up their military preparations Tuesday, with Moscow conducting a series of military exercises and Washington delivering a fresh shipment of weapons to Ukraine.

Hidroituango: Mapfre paid US$633 million to EPM for contingency - Medellín - Colombia - Colombia

The company Mapfre Insurance, Hidroituango insurer, made this Tuesday the last payment for 633.8 million dollars for the contingency initiated in the project in April 2018.

This was announced by EPM, which celebrated this disbursement to improve the finances of the megaproject.

(You may be interested: After five days, Medellín reactivates the application of a booster dose)

The mayor of Medellin, Daniel Quintero, announced that this payment had already been reported to the Comptroller General of the Republic, where an agreement had been reached in December 2021 for the insurer to make the corresponding payments for said contingency.

“Now it will be the Comptroller General’s Office that will determine, according to the exchange rate of each of the payments made, what is the shortfall that the now condemned politicians and mega-contractors who were unfortunately part of the damage that occurred in Hidroituango must pay,” explained the local president.

On the other hand, Quintero said that he will continue with what he has called the recovery of the money that was lost due to the contingency. “We are going to continue working to recover every peso and guarantee that those responsible are the ones who pay,” he added.

(You can also read: The Hay Festival starts in Medellín)

Today EPM has officially recovered 4.3 billion Hidroituango thanks to the Comptroller’s decision. The Comptroller’s Office itself will define the additional amount to be paid by convicted parties responsible for mismatching the exchange rate. We estimate this amount between 30 and 150 billion. pic.twitter.com/xDdDL0yVhP

– Daniel Quintero Calle (@QuinteroCalle) January 25, 2022

Jorge Andrés Carrillo Cardoso, general manager of EPM, highlighted the joint work of various areas of the company to achieve the payment of the policy. “To this payment for 633.8 million dollars received today, the advance payments by Mapfre to EPM for 350 million dollars are added. Thus, the total payment of the insurer Mapfre for the contingency in Hidroituango amounts to 983.8 million dollars”, he said.

With this payment confirmation, EPM reported that it will proceed with the withdrawal of the arbitration claim that is currently suspended before the Conciliation, Arbitration and Amicable Composition Center of the Medellin Chamber of Commerce and will inform the Comptroller General of the Republic of it, with the aim that this be considered within the judgment of second instance.

For now, the project is still under construction and as of December 31, 2021 it was 86.9% complete and continues with its objective of meeting the goal of starting operations in the second half of 2022.

MEDELLIN

More news from Colombia

-The Megacable has already been integrated into the mass transportation system of Pereira

-The difficulties that Santa Marta has in returning from face-to-face classes

-This is how they ate in Colombia during the time of the Spanish colony