The end after the clash with the Turk? The state got rid of an expert on acceleration zones

In the debate, Environment Ministry expert Martin Abel called Turk's statements nonsense. He lost his seat shortly afterwards.

Analyst Martin Abel, who until recently worked at an institute under the Ministry of the Environment, lost his position and believes that this is related to a discussion with Filip Turk. In it, Abel called Turk's statements nonsense.

The state has decided to terminate the contract with analyst and Oxford graduate Martin Abel, who clashed with the government's climate and Green Deal commissioner Filip Turk (Motoriste sobe) in a recent discussion. Deník N reported on the expert's termination.

The debate between Abel and Turk took place on April 1st at the Chamber of Deputies. Experts, practitioners and opponents of wind energy in the Czech Republic gathered here at the invitation of Pirates chairman Zdeněk Hřib.

The discussion heated up right from the start, when the moderator called on Abel to respond to Turk's statements about wind farms and acceleration zones, the server writes. An analyst at the ministry worked on selecting these zones, where the accelerated construction of wind and solar power plants is to take place.

"You said some good things, but basically it was nonsense. Every time you come somewhere, you say things like that. You can't surround yourself with real experts," the analyst criticized Turk on the panel.

Photos from the debate about wind farms, where Abel and Turk clashed in opinion.

Abel further stated that with similar statements, the Turk is contributing to the weeding of social discussion, Deník N pointed out. According to the Oxford graduate, experts must then deal with these false statements instead of focusing on their own work.

However, the government representative did not take kindly to the criticism and said to Abel that he did not understand energy: "If you feel that wind or solar power plants efficiently produce heat, you are crazy, lying, or you know nothing about it at all," continued Turek. He further accused Abel of being "lobbied and fanaticized."

"If I kept quiet, I wouldn't lose my job"

The heated debate in the Chamber of Deputies did not end without consequences. Less than two weeks after it, the ministry terminated the contract with Abel and is no longer cooperating with the expert, the server described.

"Yes, the VÚK terminated my contract with me essentially immediately after I called Turk's statements nonsense. On the orders of the Ministry of the Environment," the analyst told Deník N. Abel had a so-called command contract with the institute for the project in question, which was extended until August this year at the beginning of the year.

According to Abel, however, a few days ago, the director of the research institute, Libor Hort, called him: "He told me that he had bad news for me. After a meeting with the senior director of the technical environmental protection section, Jaromír Wasserbauer, from the Ministry of the Environment, he told me that he had no other option but to categorically terminate cooperation with me."

According to Abel, there were two reasons for the termination of cooperation, which were told to him by Director Hort. The first was the debate in the Chamber of Deputies and the second was Abel's work in the Climate Lawsuit association. In 2021, the association sued the Czech authorities for insufficient reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and a weak response to climate change.

However, involvement in the association has not been a problem until now, as Abel claims: "No one has so far even suggested that my involvement was in any way unprofessional or influenced by being part of the Climate Action. Moreover, I don't see why it should matter - I'm exercising my right."

"I take away from this that if I had kept quiet and nodded, I would not have lost my job, because the ministry leadership would not have registered me as before. But that is not my style," added Abel, who also works as an analyst at the Association for International Affairs (AMO), Deník N recalls.

The director of the research institute, Hort, who announced to Abel that he was leaving the Ministry of the Environment, refused to comment on the reasons for the termination of the contract. "The contract itself was terminated without giving specific reasons, which is in line with its terms. For this reason, I cannot comment on Mr. Abel's interpretations or claims regarding the reasons for the termination of cooperation, nor can I confirm them," Hort responded.

"We are terrible"

At the end of the key expert's speech, government representative Turek also spoke to the editorial staff of Deník N, according to whom the institute's management made the right decision. "A person who evaluates the expert discussion on energy as the main tragedy, that it is discussed by men over forty and white, should not be responsible for such fundamental issues as the energy mix in our country. His opinions reek of positive racism and progressivist madness," he said.

However, he did not provide an answer to the question of whether he himself advocated for Abel's end: "Left-wing thinking and progressive ideology without technical knowledge contradict the current direction of green politics under our leadership," the MP concluded.

Turek also commented on Abel's end on his Facebook profile, where he wrote only "we are terrible" in response to the Deník N article. The same words were also said a few months ago by the chairman of the Motorists, Petr Macinka. At a press conference at which the foreign minister explained the SMS messages he had sent to the president's advisor. The editorial staff of Seznam Zpráv contacted Filip Turek for a comment, but no response was received by the time the text was published.

In response to Turk's statement, Abel repeated to Deník N what he specifically said in the discussion:

"First, I stated that the climate crisis does not end when Minister Macinka says so. In addition to security and economy, this is an important reason why we are looking for places for acceleration zones. Secondly, the main problem not only with the placement of wind farms, but with all spatial planning is the lack of public involvement. We see this here too. Six white men living in Prague, five of whom are over forty, pretend that they can speak for all residents who will be affected," the expert concluded.

Source: Seznam Zprávy