Canary Islands demands more ambition to adapt to climate change

The request was made by the Canarian Minister for the Fight against Climate Change, José Antonio Valbuena, at the National Environment Congress, held these days in Madrid.

November 24 2022 (14:43 WET)
Representatives of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands at the National Congress on the Environment
Representatives of the Government of the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands at the National Congress on the Environment

The Minister of Ecological Transition, Fight against Climate Change and Territorial Planning, José Antonio Valbuena Alonso, has requested to increase ambition to achieve the ecological and social transition caused by climate change, during his participation this Wednesday, in Madrid, at the National Environment Congress (CONAMA).

“We have stepped on the accelerator, in a few weeks we will approve a law to achieve full adaptation and decarbonization by 2040”, announced the minister, adding that this text will be “mandatory” for all the “pillars” of society.

In this way, in the style of security plans, Canarian companies most affected by this phenomenon “have the obligation to make their own adaptation plan to climate change”.

The strategy of the Government of the Canary Islands includes that its Ministry of Health develop another specific plan, based on data, on the effects of climate change to identify, for example, respiratory diseases derived from the increase in scenarios of haze (suspended dust).

Valbuena was present, together with other regional ministers, at the opening of the third day of the XVI edition of CONAMA, in a debate under the title "The European Mission of Adaptation to Climate Change: an opportunity for regions and communities".

There, Lydia González Fernández, from the Directorate of EU Programs and Territorial Cooperation Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI), has corroborated that “the transition must be faster” and must, in her opinion, be applied with a “holistic” sense that covers different sectors of daily activity (tourism, agriculture, etc.).

From Brussels they have launched different “missions” to carry out this objective, such as "Mission Forum", an annual forum that brings together all actors to assess the development and recommendations for action.

Another of the highlighted initiatives is "Mission Charter", defined by González Fernández as “an invitation to all actors to forge alliances and reinforce a commitment to work”; for the moment -the registration period ends next Friday, the 25th-, it is made up of 200 signatory entities, of which around 10% are Spanish.

The Minister of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Environment and Emergencies of the Government of the Region of Murcia, Antonio Luengo Zapata, also participated in the round table; the Deputy Minister of Sustainable Development of the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha, Fernando Marchán Morales; and the delegate president of the Climate Action Area of the Barcelona Provincial Council, Xesco Gomar.

This edition of CONAMA, under the slogan "Starring the transformation. It's the moment", ends this Thursday at the IFEMA Madrid Municipal Palace with the participation of 1,200 specialists in environmental areas such as Energy and climate change, Mobility, Water, or Biodiversity, among others.

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