The ESG wishes to acknowledge the effort made by a few to ensure that Gibraltar supported a key moment in humankind’s history.

Saturday the 12th December was not only memorable because Gibraltar won the most coveted world beauty pageant. It was also highly significant because it marked a day when over 3,000 vigils took place all over the world calling upon world leaders meeting in Copenhagen to take the right decisions and give the world, a real deal, in terms of meaningfully tackling global warming. (The win in South Africa and ensuing traffic and street activity meant that perhaps more people caught a glimpse of the climate change vigil than otherwise might have done on a normal Saturday evening on the Rock.)

Locally, close to 100 people gathered at Convent Place and participated in our own candlelit vigil which was recorded and will now form part of a global website campaign carrying hundreds of images reflecting the human face of the 350 campaign. The gathering included members from different organisations (including Foe Gibraltar, GONHS and the Scouts), as well as prominent members of our community. Several eye catching and powerful banners were on display.

Bishop Caruana opened the event and had strong words to say about the importance of climate change and need for action- he was followed by various ESG speakers, Bernard Linares (ex Government Minister), Scouts representative and a member of the Youth Enterprise Scheme.

Once the statements had ended, the crowd stood firm and talked about the issues involved in climate change, both locally and globally. The evening was graced by spontaneous singing by the Scouts and the creation of two beautiful symbols in candles with the help of Eddie Lucas and Tom Finlayson and many helpers. One of the symbols was of the world marking Gibraltar’s location prominently. The second and main symbol was of a giant 350 number, the title of this global campaign, which continues to reverberate in the corridors of Copenhagen with activists pressing for real action : for a fair, ambitious and binding treaty.

The ESG wishes to acknowledge the effort made by a few to ensure that Gibraltar supported what is a key moment in humankind’s history.