The Net Zero Delivery Board, chaired by the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia, met on Tuesday at No 6 Convent Place. The Minister for the Environment, Sustainability, Climate Change and Education Prof John Cortes and the Minister for Health, Care and Business Gemma Arias-Vasquez also attended. The Board is comprised of representatives and stakeholders from across Government, agencies and authorities.

The Board were updated by environmental consultancy Ricardo on Gibraltar’s projected emissions through to 2045, and the results of their modelling exercise to identify the areas where action will be most effective, using the concept of ‘carbon budgets’ to demonstrate how emissions can be brought down over time, broken up into 5-year periods. It looked at key areas like recycling, electricity generation and transport.

Achieving Gibraltar’s Net Zero commitments remains a policy priority for this Government and it is crucial that we focus our efforts and resources on the right areas to ensure that we reduce our emissions as quickly and efficiently as possible. A number of initiatives are being planned that will specifically seek to reduce emissions in these areas.

Among the agenda items was the formal approval of the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Charging Strategy which has now been published.

The transition to an electric vehicle fleet is a cornerstone of Gibraltar’s emissions reduction strategy. Availability of and access to charging infrastructure has been identified as a key barrier for both businesses and individuals looking to switch. This strategy seeks to provide clarity and certainty to the market, and to the public, in respect of Government’s plans for the roll out of this critical infrastructure.

A tender for the provision of charging points at various key locations around Gibraltar will be issued shortly and legislation to regulate the installation, use and management of these points will also be introduced.

The NZDB also discussed current progress towards the interim 2030 emissions reduction target and the overall 2045 net zero target. The Climate Change Strategy is being reviewed in light of this latest data in order to ensure that the targets and objectives within it remain relevant and best suited to deliver on Gibraltar’s obligations. An update on this work will be made available in due course.