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Climate Change Committee appointed - 96/2022

February 10, 2022

The Climate Change Committee, as defined by the Climate Change Act, has now been appointed and held its first meeting on Friday.

The Climate Change Committee is established under the Act as an independent body to provide advice and assistance on matters to do with climate change - such as for example, trading schemes, mitigation and adaptation measures and carbon budgets.

The Committee also exists to provide scrutiny of Gibraltar’s plans to deliver the emission reduction targets set out in the Climate Change Act. The Committee may also express a view as to any other matter that it considers appropriate, including in particular as to any sectors in which there are particular opportunities for emission reductions.   Reports from the Climate Change Committee must be laid before Parliament.

The membership has been selected to be largely made up of Climate Change experts from outside Gibraltar.

The Chair of the Committee will be Angelique Linares, with the other Gibraltar-based member being Dr Darren Fa.  Members based in UK are Nicky Crawford, Nikki Kent, Dr Ali Mashayek and Nicola Webb (brief CVs below).

The Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, the Hon Prof John Cortes, commented: “I am very pleased that we are now moving ahead with putting our Climate Change legislation into real effect, following the publication a few months ago of the Climate Change Strategy.  This Committee of experts will be able to monitor our progress and advise on improving performance on our Climate Change targets and agenda.  I was able to welcome the new members at their first meeting on Friday, and am very much looking forward to their input and help in ensuring that we achieve our climate change”.

Commenting on the appointment of the committee and its remit of advice and scrutiny of government action, Chair Angelique Linares, said: ‘Climate change is not limited by borders so all jurisdictions therefore have a role to play in contributing to a reduction in carbon output. It is testament to Gibraltar’s objective of carbon neutrality by 2030, delivered through a climate change strategy, that such an eminent committee has been recruited. We look forward to the work ahead and being part of a change for global better.’

 

Note to Editors:

Gibraltar Climate Change Committee

Chair – Angelique Linares

Angelique Linares has been the Managing Partner at EY since 2018. She has over 20 years’ experience in the services industry, including experience with the oil and gas sectors. She has an in-depth knowledge of Gibraltar’s commercial, business and regulatory environment.

More recently she has been at the forefront of EY Gibraltar’s work on corporate social responsibility and the organisation’s efforts to achieve net zero.

Member – Nicky Crawford

Nicky Crawford is a Gibraltarian with 21 years’ experience in sustainability consulting. Nicky has deep technical knowledge of sustainability topics including climate change and climate risk. Nicky has advised clients in a variety of sectors in both mature and emerging markets. 

Nicky was previously involved in several projects in Gibraltar including Environmental Impact Assessments and Environmental Permitting for some key infrastructure and real estate developments.  

Most recently, Nicky has been advising Private Equity & Venture Capital clients on the integration of Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) in their investment process, and advising portfolio companies on their sustainability journeys. Nicky sits on the Responsible Investment Advisory Group of the BVCA (British Venture Capital Association) and the Responsible Investment Roundtable of Invest Europe.

Member – Dr. Darren Fa

Dr. Darren Fa is the Director for Academic Programmes and Research at the University of Gibraltar. An educator by profession, Darren undertook his postgraduate studies at the University of Southampton’s National Oceanography Centre in the UK and was awarded his PhD in Biological Oceanography in 1998. Since then, his interest in climate impacts and risks, especially in the marine sphere, has continued to develop, to include climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction. This led to his authoring, developing and launching the University’s MSc programme in Marine Science and Climate Change, currently hosting some 30 students from all over the world.

The effects of climate change on the spread of invasive marine species is also an active research area, as is the study of the historical relationship between people and the sea in the past as a tool to inform future scenarios.

In 2021 he was selected as one of only 18 mentors from across the Commonwealth for the Association of Commonwealth University’s (ACU) and British Council’s Futures Climate Research Cohort, an initiative supporting the development and retention of ‘rising star’ researchers and future leaders with expertise in a range of disciplines and who have a deep understanding of communities disproportionately impacted by climate change.  Reflecting the diversity of the Commonwealth, members of cohort are based at 25 ACU member universities from 16 countries.

Member – Nikki Kent

Nikki Kent has a Masters Degree in Climate Change from the University of East Anglia in the UK and over 15 years of experience delivering and project managing climate resilience and adaptation projects across multiple sectors internationally, across Europe and in the UK. As Climate Resilience and Adaptation Consultant she is involved in engaging with and undertaking climate resilience technical work and assessments for infrastructure and development projects, with a focus on cities and infrastructure.

She is involved in the delivery of climate impacts and adaptation technical including climate change risk assessments, review of infrastructure design for climate resilience, capacity building and training on climate risks, collection and analysis of climate data and tool development, gathering stakeholder data via interviews and workshops; designing and running workshops for analysing impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change; resulting in the development of adaptation options, indicators, strategies/plans and policy recommendations across multiple sectors.

Member – Dr. Ali Mashayek

Ali Mashayek is an Assistant Professor of climate dynamics at Imperial College London where he is affiliated with Environmental Engineering, the Grantham Institute of Climate Change, and Energy Futures Lab. His group’s research spans various topics in environmental and geophysical fluid dynamics, climate science and policy, and scientific computing. He is the co-founder of the Marine and Coastal Environments (MACE) network of excellence and leader of the Data Informed Climatic and Environmental Fluid Dynamics initiative, both at Imperial College.

Member – Nicola Webb

Nicola Webb has worked on greenhouse gas emissions inventories for over 15 years. She previously managed the UK National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI), reporting emissions for the UK and Gibraltar to the EU. She has worked with C40 Cities supporting city Governments to produce climate action plans in line with the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement. Currently Nicola works with her local Government in developing and driving forward their response to the Climate Emergency, leading on specific reduction and adaptation projects and scrutinising and improving decision making processes. She is a passionate Carbon Literacy trainer, using it to build mini action plans for local government departments.