The Secretary of State for the Environment, Federico Ramos, today commemorated World Environment Day, which this year is dedicated to the “green economy”, presenting the third report on local policies to combat climate change, an event where he stressed that “all steps of social development are going towards a greener economy, understanding by greener that it is less impactful on the territory, more effective in the management of its resources and in the reduction of its emissions”.
“The Government of Spain, through the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (MAGRAMA), does not imagine a development that is not greener. The speed of this development, the steps we are going to take and how we keep pace with a short-term situation of economic crisis are going to be the secret of our success, but all the steps of social development are going to be towards a greener economy,” Ramos stressed.
The Secretary of State stressed that this year the celebration of World Environment Day has a special significance, as it marks the 40th anniversary of the historic Stockholm Conference, “which was a milestone in the concern for the conservation of nature at an international level”, he said.
This year also marks the 20th anniversary of the Rio ’92 summit and the 10th anniversary of the Johannesburg Summit, whose motto, “Green Economy” – as Ramos recalled – has also become one of the most relevant issues of the next United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development – known as “Rio+20” – a key environmental event to be held from 20 to 22 of this month in Brazil.
The Secretary of State today presented the report on local policies to combat climate change together with the president of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), Juan Ignacio Zoido, and the president of the Spanish Network of Cities for Climate and mayor of Santander, Íñigo de la Serna. This report includes, among others, the work carried out by the Ministry and the FEMP to deal with the effects of climate change, in a specific way and applicable to the local level.
