The environmentalist party refers, citing news published by the media, that the Government of the Azores “affirms that this project will be preceded by the carrying out of economic-financial studies and environmental impact assessment”, and “the location of the project on the island may suffer changes from the initially advanced localisations”.

“But it is assumed that the island of Santa Maria will host the aforementioned space port for launching small satellites intended for telecommunications companies, without knowing if the island, in fact, has the conditions to host such infrastructure and even less its environmental impacts, social and economic”, say the Greens, in a press release.

Unique characteristics

According to the party, the island of Santa Maria “has unique characteristics from the point of view of its own geological formation and biodiversity, namely the avifauna and marine fauna of extreme sensitivity”, which “could very well be at risk with this project".

The Greens want to know the impacts of the launch of satellites from Santa Maria on the regularity of “vital air and maritime connections to the island, on fishing activities, on tourist activities, whether at sea or on land, and on the population itself”.

According to the Greens, a project “cannot move forward without knowing its implications in depth”, which is why it was demanded in 2019 and that it continues to demand today, “a strategic environmental assessment that understands whether, in fact, the island can withstand an impacting activity of this nature, in a transparent process where the island's population has to be involved”.