Text from the Guardian Special Report on Gibraltar:
14 December 2012
http://www.guardian.co.uk/the-report/gibraltar
Going green
Richard Nield
Gibraltar has, in the past, drawn criticism from environmental groups. Today, as a major international environment forum brings the issue sharply into focus, the new government has strongly committed itself to a carbon-neutral future. But is it possible to improve the jurisdiction’s green credentials?
Gibraltar’s environment policy has come in for a great deal of criticism in recent years. Air quality and waste disposal have been poor, and the territory’s role as a hub for the oil storage industry has resulted in oil spills and air pollution.
A little less than a year ago, however, a new government was elected that has put the environment at the heart of its agenda. “We used to say during the election campaign that every minister will be a minister for the environment,” says Dr Joseph Garcia, Gibraltar’s deputy chief minister. “It’s fair to say that it’s very much at the forefront of our decision-making; not just in an informational sense but also in a practical, day-to-day sense.”
Nowhere does the passion to improve Gibraltar’s environment burn more strongly than in Dr John Cortes, Gibraltar’s minister of health and environment. Born in Gibraltar, Cortes tells of growing up and noticing changes in the territory’s wildlife as the impact of global warming began to become apparent. After a visit to the Arctic Sea, where he saw ice breaking off the Hubbard Glacier in thundering chunks, he determined that he would make the environment his life’s work.
A published scientist on climate change, Cortes is committed to ensuring that Gibraltar does its bit not only for the local climate, but for the world as a whole. At the end of October, Gibraltar was host to an international climate conference, Thinking Green. Speakers including former US vice president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore and former US government official Juan Verde drew attendees from Europe and across the globe. “Any modern, progressive society must assume responsibility beyond its borders for the earth’s resources,” said Cortes in his opening speech to the conference.
Cortes admits that his government has a lot to do. “For many years, Gibraltar has lagged behind in such wide-ranging matters of environmental significance as recycling and power generation,” he told the conference. “Awareness has been limited and not encouraged, and projects to improve our performance have been put on hold, risking infractions and fines, damaging our international standing, and what’s worse, compromising the health of our community.”
But he is equally convinced that it can succeed in the challenge: “Our people elected the greenest government in our history and possibly the greenest in Europe, based on a manifesto that is at the same time ambitious and realistic in its aim to develop Gibraltar and its economy in consonance with the environment.”
Some progress has already been made. The government has prioritised green issues in public spending, and has also introduced measures to incentivise investment in green technology, by removing import duties on low-energy lighting and reducing import duties on hybrid and electric vehicles.
For Cortes, though, this is just the start. His plans range from launching a revised government environmental action plan to introducing pilot schemes for renewable technologies, as well as developing an eco-park to help with the sorting and disposal of waste. And all this, he says, in the next few months.
The government also plans to replace polluting power generation from its three diesel plants. This, though, could be more difficult. The use of solar power is only likely to make a small impact in the coming years, while financing a new major power plant is not a simple matter. The government recently scrapped a contract for a new 60MW power station in the territory because it would have involved a hike in electricity prices, and instead has had to settle for a temporary, rented facility (see next page).
Cortes, though, is not easily deterred. He has called for a cross-party, nationwide drive to improve the environment in Gibraltar in order to prevent a continuing slide in the pollution of the territory’s land, air and water. “The easy way is to do nothing, to allow ourselves to be convinced that there’s no point in doing anything about it,” he told the Thinking Green conference. This, though, is just not the minister’s way.
Reducing emissions
The government has recently announced the awarding of a £4m contract to ship a temporary power station to Gibraltar that will ease on existing power capacity and cut pollution.
The 5MW power station will be installed by mid-December at the north-western end of the North Mole as part of a deal signed with US firm Energy International to supply electricity to the territory for the next two years.
The plant, which will run on diesel, will be operational in time for the peak winter demand period. It will take the strain off Gibraltar’s three power plants, lower emissions, and reduce the risk of power cuts.
The government’s key objectives
Comply with all local and applicable EU environmental legislation.
Create a self sufficient and sustainable environmental management and monitoring strategy.
Increase public awareness of environmental issues.
Monitor behaviour to ensure compliance with legislation by individuals and industry.
Improve air quality and waste management.