It is obvious to everyone that the challenge for any political leader of the different Local Administrations in the coming years will be to lead the green revolution. Based on the fact that I deeply believe that all that responsibility falls on the political figure, I deduce that there are other determining factors just as important for that to be a reality.
Without a commitment and teamwork from the administration closest to the citizen, such as the town hall itself, and the complicity of the citizens themselves, everything will be lost. Sensitizing the population with powerful environmental awareness actions will be the main challenge if we really want to change a panorama that looks somewhat dark.
"In green policies, inaction will be our doom"
The complicity of the different Public Administrations, the private sector and the citizens themselves, could change the course of the ineffective environmental policies implemented so far. Let's be realistic, nowadays, when we talk about the environment or green policies, the feeling that a large part of society has is that of "much ado about nothing".
Inaction will be our doom. The future of the next generations is on the table. And this is not a hackneyed expression, but unfortunately we have turned it into reality.
Everything will be lost without a solid pact, a broad agreement where we all participate, and where the only interest that prevails is the defense of the environment and nature itself. Regardless of any ideology, be it left or right, green policies are our present and immediate future and should be in any electoral program. In addition to that, when the political parties and public officials who represent the different formations reach the governments, we must put them into practice without hesitation.
That is why, from the formation to which I belong, Nueva Canarias, we have come to the conclusion that the New Green Deal must be the roadmap that guides our public policies, our actions and our commitments. We will work to offer the society of Lanzarote a minimum agreement that, in a few years, will be transformed into an Insular Environmental Action Plan that makes our island, and especially our capital, a sustainable place, sensitive to the environment, resilient and capable of generating well-being without endangering our environment. After all, we are only asking that Lanzarote return to what it once was, a space where nature and humans came together in harmony.
The legacy we leave to future generations will depend on our political responsibility and the defense we make of our islands.
By Armando Santana, Insular Secretary of the New Green Deal, Nueva Canarias-Lanzarote.