Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change Prof John Cortes gave the opening address at last week’s ‘Aspire’ Conference on Sustainable Construction, the second of its kind in Gibraltar. 

In his address, Minister Cortes summarised the progress made in environmental awareness and action over the past decade, but called for more.  

He welcomed all those present and thanked the event sponsors, highlighting that the time has come for the private sector to lead and not to follow in sustainable practices.  

The reality of Climate Change and consequent extreme weather requires action, both in reducing the causes by reducing carbon impact, and by adaptation to the new reality, he said.  Minister Cortes stressed the importance of administrations, NGOs and business working to gather to achieve sustainability goals.  He gave the example of Gibraltar’s progress on mandating swift nest sites in construction, a measure unique in the world and so far not accepted in the United Kingdom, as a simple example of what can be achieved.

He stressed that other countries should follow Gibraltar’s example, and that instead of going down the avenue of de-regulation, which has been seen elsewhere, what is needed is integration of Nature and Biodiversity in urban planning and development.

Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Climate Change, the Hon Prof John Cortes, said: “This is a systemic issue and it requires systemic change from Governments, developers, architects, engineers, and yes, from all of us. Sustainability isn’t about perfection, it’s about progress. Real, progress, which comes with focus, determination and belief, from all.”

The day-long conference included contributions from Industry experts from both within and outside Gibraltar, with celebrated innovative architect Michael Pawlyn delivering the first Keynote, centering on his work on biomimetic architecture.