Today’s newsletter will include local environmental issues affecting us all- there’s no doubt that the environment is being discussed a lot these days as indeed it should. In fact the ESG hopes that televised debates on environmental issues will be scheduled into the GBC timetable to ensure that recent developments are debated openly and reflected upon in some depth. Among these I include the Epidemiological study findings and ongoing process and of course the published Environmental Action and Management Plan.
This latest publication has been greatly anticipated by our group who has lobbied for an Environmental policy, Charter and indeed Action Plan of implementation for many years now. We are issuing a press release today with our reaction on how we believe this Plan sets out Governments intention or otherwise of addressing key environmental issues in Gibraltar. This will also be posted on our website which is: esg-gib.net
Regarding other issues clearly our electricity problems are riding somewhat high in terms of importance and impact but it is simply a development that we knew would occur because remedial action was not taken when it should. While our technical people address the immediate issue of restoring a stable power supply, the urgency of a replacement power station, compliant with all EU laws cannot be understated and we expect to hear from our Government soon on when this will be started.
Another side to this of course is our thoughtless use of energy. How vulnerable we are when all our appliances are reliant on external power supply. How complacent we have become in our use of energy indeed for our work and our entertainment. Also and importantly the need to use resources such as electricity and water with care- The recent breakdown in power supply gives us all a good chance to look around our offices and homes and see how much unnecessary use of energy goes on in our lives and reduce consumption and make a difference.
Moving on to CEPSA and another of our core issues- we were somewhat surprised to hear GBC announce recently that the European Parliament and Commission were making statements about CEPSA emissions and health issues. The ESG plans to sit with MEPs soon to review all these issues in depth and plan a strategy to ensure onward compliance with environmental regulation by large industries in the Bay.
A reminder finally about Western Beach and Sewage pollution – we urge everyone who hasn’t yet signed the petition to do so online- visit our ESG website and you can do this with ease- also please ask your family and friends to do so too. The next protest is planned for the 10th Feb at 6pm at the beach and we are pleased to announce that our Spanish environmental colleagues Agaden and Verdemar hope to hold a parallel protest on the other side of the border to show solidarity on an issue which also affects their citizens and environment. We sincerely hope that these measures will help bring about change and get the beach cleaned up.
This will only happen if citizens support such actions and this is a direct appeal to you listening today to support the protest, and help us solve this problem. Hope to see you there!
Thanks for listening!!
