The Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Isabel García Tejerina, stressed that this Government “has implemented an effective environmental policy, aimed at protecting our heritage effectively and moving towards a green economy”, with the aim of “contributing to the well-being and health of people”.
Isabel García Tejerina inaugurated the XII National Congress of the Environment (CONAMA) this morning, together with the president of the CONAMA Foundation, Gonzalo Echagüe; the mayor of Madrid, Ana Botella; the Minister of the Environment of the Community of Madrid, Borja Sarasola; and the secretary general of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces, Ángel Fernández-Díaz.
During the inauguration, García Tejerina stressed the need to promote a more sustainable development model, which recognises the scarcity of resources and is at the service of social welfare. That is, “that guarantees care for the environment and promotes, at the same time, economic development and the creation of quality employment”.
TOWARDS A LOW-CARBON ECONOMY
In this context, the minister stressed how the Government has been working since the beginning of this Legislature to promote the transition to a low-carbon economy. As he assured, in these three years “we have not only managed to change the economic cycle without sacrificing environmental objectives, but, for the first time, we have launched a policy focused on achieving an effective alliance between environmental protection and economic growth”.
To this end, three successive editions of the Plan to Promote the Environment (PIMA Air) have been launched, in addition to the PIMA Sol and the PIMA Tierra, which will be followed, in the short term, by a new PIMA Aire and a PIMA Transporte. The minister also mentioned the Climate Projects, aimed at reducing emissions in diffuse sectors, “a pioneering initiative that is already in its third call, and with which we have already supported more than 85 projects”
García Tejerina also referred to the Carbon Footprint Registry, to which more than 50 companies have joined, which calculate and record their footprint, while promoting national sinks. In addition, “we have presented the Roadmap for compliance in reducing CO2 emissions, by 2020, in diffuse sectors”, he added.
At the same time, the minister pointed out that the Empleaverde Programme has promoted the creation or consolidation of 2,600 companies, thanks to a total budget of 42 million euros.
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITMENTS
On the other hand, García Tejerina has assured that his Department is working “to make up for lost time in terms of environmental commitments made in the European Union”. In the specific field of water, “in two and a half years we have carried out the work that was planned for the previous eight”. In this way, with the closure of the first planning cycle and the progress of the second cycle, “Spain recovers its prestige and recognition in the water sector”, he stressed.
In terms of coasts, “we have opted to guarantee the protection of the environment and promote sustainable economic activity, with the reform of the Coastal Law and a new Regulation”, said the minister, who added that, with this same objective, “we encourage the promotion of sustainable and nature tourism, which allows us to bring our natural spaces closer to everyone, contributing to the creation of wealth”.
García Tejerina also commented on the expansion of protected areas, “which already account for around 30% of our territory”, with which “we recognise and preserve the values of a natural heritage that places us, not only in the top positions in Europe, but in the world. ” And we have also made great progress in the protection of the marine environment,” said the minister, “with the creation of 39 protected areas for seabirds and the declaration of 4 new protected marine enclaves, to which another six will be added by the end of this year.”
On the other hand, García Tejerina expressed Spain’s “decisive support” for the European Union in the search for international commitments to fight climate change. For the minister, with the approval of a new common framework on energy and climate, Horizon 2013, “Europe assumes a clear leadership in terms of sustainable growth and the fight against climate change”.
In this context, García Tejerina understands that the Conference of the Parties, which will be held in Lima in December, “will be decisive in achieving, at the 2015 summit in Paris, a new international agreement within the United Nations, which is binding at the global level”. For the minister, “Spain’s commitment to this great challenge is firm, and it is endorsed by our policies”. “Thanks to this, he added, today we can affirm not only that our country will comply with the first period of the Kyoto Protocol, but that we will be prepared to face the challenges of 2020 and 2030”.
