The Canary Islands Executive has just approved the Canary Islands Climate Action Strategy (ECAC), to adapt the archipelago to the advance of climate change and collaborate with global actions to try to reverse the situation.
"Mitigation", by reducing greenhouse gases, and "adaptation", to resist the negative effects as best as possible, which will intensify, are the two pillars on which this strategy is based, which develops the Canary Islands Climate Change Law, approved in 2022, explained José Antonio Valbuena, Minister of Ecological Transition, at a press conference.
Not taking sufficient measures can lead to a decrease of 11% of the Canary Islands GDP only due to the increase in sea level rise, a decrease in visitors, less competitiveness compared to other destinations and job losses, Valbuena said.
The reduction of emissions, the capture of carbon, energy efficiency, the implementation of renewable energy and sustainable mobility are the tasks for "the great task of mitigation", which will lead to depending as little as possible on fossil fuels, explained the counselor.
And together with this, the strategy seeks to identify risks and vulnerabilities, as well as measures to avoid or reduce the environmental, social and economic damages that are going to occur.
The strategy has made a diagnosis in twelve social and economic aspects, including the territorial model, the energy model, tourism, transport, urban planning or water resources.
He cited as an example the analysis of the climatic impact on the tourism sector, which must adapt until the end of the century to average temperatures that can reach five degrees Celsius more, to the increase in temperature and sea level, to more solar radiation, to less rain, to more droughts, to more torrential rainfall, to the increase in heat waves or to the fact that there are up to six months of tropical nights.
More pests and diseases
The risks involved in this change include the proliferation of pests, less tourist comfort, more diseases and less quality of bathing water due to the rise in sea water temperature.
The effects of mitigation measures depend on a global action to which the Canary Islands will have to contribute (although the archipelago accounts for 0.04% of global emissions), but adaptation measures "depend exclusively on us, it is a great local task", the counselor remarked.
In this context, the strategy approved this Thursday is the regional planning framework that defines the roadmap "to move towards a climate-neutral and resilient society".
This strategy sets out the determinations to which sectoral plans, programs and policies must be adjusted, as well as the economic and social transformations necessary to respond to the climate crisis, with the participation of all sectors of the economy and society.
The strategy will be developed with a Canary Islands Climate Action Plan and a Canary Islands Energy Transition Plan, as well as with island and municipal action plans.
