A note from the editor Vanessa Byrne / Managing Director
Boom ! It ’ s Christmas again ! Trees up , lights everywhere and the buzz on the streets . Such a happy time of year !
As the season of giving ( and excess ) is upon us , I cannot be prouder of this edition for our to contribution of ideas to make our Christmas festivities as sustainable and eco-friendly as possible . A big Well Done to The Nautilus Project and Eco Passion for their constant commitment to this providing our readers with loads of different ideas and options .
The concept of “ think before you buy ” at Christmas time seems to be sometimes thrown out the window by impulsive , last-minute panic buying . However , we cannot forget the waste mountains of packaging and single use products found in our rubbish bins from our homes every morning on Christmas Day for our rubbish bins . Please think before you buy this year , it is for us to set the example for future generations , if there is to be a future generation . Simple changes like just wrapping our pressies in newspaper rather than buying gift wrapping paper for just the one use … simple things go a long way . It ’ s a very cool look anyways !!
A special highlight this month must be to the COP26 summit . The main issue in this year ’ s summit was to find out if it was indeed possible to keep to the essential 1.5 degrees or if that is impossible … scary or what ? No question as to whether it is happening , but what extremes we will suffer and the dire repercussions of climate change .
There were positive pledges made during the summit however . In the end , there was a sense of despair after all , in this vital decade , each delay in making me- aningful and radical changes will cost us the opportunity to stop catastrophic warming .
As said by Antonio Guterres in his closing message “ Our fragile planet is hanging by a thread . We are still knocking on the door of climate catastrophe . It is time to go into emergency mode — or our chance of reaching net-zero will itself be zero .”
Check out Sarah ’ s full summary article on this on page 24 .
In light of the COP26 , there has been some positive changes made in Gibraltar too – single use plastic has finally been banned and the Gibraltar Climate Change Strategy was published . The plan was prepared in response to the 2019 Climate Emergency Motion and to fulfil the requirements of the Climate Change Act . It outlines both existing and planned measures to reduce emissions across various areas , including buildings , energy , transport and waste . This is a positive step , and we hope it brings big changes locally and soon . Check out the full information on our news shorts page – 16 .
As 2021 draws to a close we would like to take this time to thank to all our readers , supporters , and collaborator ’ s . We are so appreciative of your continued support and motivation . We hope 2022 will provide you all with new adventures and opportunities that are yet to be realised .
From all of us at OTWO we wish you a Merry Christmas surrounded by those you love and the most prosperous and sustainable New Year !
Be kind to yourselves and each other .
OTWO 29 / DECEMBER 2021 11