OTWO Magazine April 2020 | Page 21

A FOCUS ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY GROUP’S WISHLIST 1.- CLIMATE CHANGE Gibraltar has serious challenges on its journey towards becoming carbon neutral. Our Government has declared a Climate Emergency Pledge and the ESG has joined with other local environmental and heritage NGOs to press for an ambitious and independently monitored programme for the decarbonising of our community. This coalition known as the ‘Coalition for Climate Action’ has emerged from public meetings organi- sed by the ESG in 2019, in response to the growing local and global civic call for action on climate change. The coalition wants urgent action on: - Transport. - Energy. - Pollution. - Waste. - Development. - Trade in Fossil Fuel. We call for a funded and cross party supported, 38 independent climate body with a main focus to transition away from a carbon intensive society. They would be tasked with the rolling out of an agreed programme with strict timeframes and changes agreed would be imposed on all future administrations. 2.- ADHERENCE TO EU (OR HIGHER) ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS BE- YOND BREXIT ESG commends the Government’s commitment to continue to apply EU environmental standards in Gi- braltar, even once out of the European Commission, and expects all parties to sustain this. As stated above, our ideal objective would be to see higher than EU standards applied when these fail to deliver adequate protection. Additionally, our aim now, under a Climate Change Pledge, would be to set goals that will radically transform our industry, transport, and trade to de- carbonise Gibraltar as far as possible and as quickly as can be done. (i.e. a change in approach and strategy and not merely a legal requirement). OTWO 09 / APRIL 2020 OTWO 09 / APRIL 2020 39